A Way of Life
by enemyanenome
Summary: The Hokage decides to switch things up in the genin assignments this year, resulting in a series of events that alter the fate of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. How does the creation of the first all-kunoichi team in the history of the Leaf influence the bonds of friendship and the duty to family, clan, and village?
1. Chapter 1

Iruka sighed, a headache building up behind his eye sockets. A paper kunai soared by, crumpling when it hit the wall. Most of the class was chattering, adding to the cacophony. Even Shino's kikaichu bugs chirped. Sasuke stewed in a cloud of anger that was almost tangible, glaring whenever an excitable classmate got too close to his personal space. The high-pitched yapping of Kiba's puppy rivaled the shrill pitch of Ino's and Sakura's strident argument. They alternated between yelling at each other and a hapless Naruto.

"Quiet!" Iruka barked, letting loose a sliver of a hint of killing intent at the unruly students before him. Not very much (he was a chunin, after all, and a teacher at the academy), but they were only schoolchildren, and the shock quickly quieted them. As they settled into their seats, Iruka unfolded the paper with the Hokage's seal on it.

"Team 1," he began. He listed off the genin teams, ignoring various shrieks of excitement and groans of disappointment. As he worked his way down the list, he couldn't help but wonder what the Hokage was thinking. An all-kunoichi team? The usual practice of balancing ability-the first in the class, the last in the class, and the top kunoichi-did not seem to be applied here. Instead of Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura on a team, it was-

"Sasuke Uchiha, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino, your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Team 8 will be Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Haruno Sakura. Your sensei will be Mitarashi Anko."

"What? I have to be on a team with Forehead? No fair!" Ino wailed as Sakura glared at her. Hinata blushed and stared at Iruka.

"Quiet!" he snapped at Ino, hoping to nip any arguments in the bud, and continued.

"…Team 10 will be Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Inuzuka Kiba, and your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka noted the surprised happiness that flashed across Naruto's face and wondered at the Sandaime's thought process. He shook himself from his thoughts and continued. "Any further questions -"

Just then, the window splintered with the crash of pulverized glass as a dark shape barreled through, landing on top of his desk in a crouch.

"Mm, fresh meat!" Anko flashed a feral grin, widening her eyes as she surveyed the surprised and uncomfortable new genin.

"Anko-san," Iruka interrupted, trying to keep control of his classroom before anything else happened, "I am not quite done with the introductions yet-"

"What was that?"

Iruka swallowed as she turned her uncomfortable gaze on him.

"You're early, Anko-san," he said. "Please wait until I have told the class the required information, and then you may collect your team."

Anko pouted, but agreed.

Unfortunately, his relief was short-lived.

"Hey, you're kind of cute," she said, "How about you buy me dango sometime?"

"Ah…Anko-san," he stuttered, not sure how to respond.

She was already on her way out the broken window, disappearing in a swirl of leaves as the class stared in fascinated silence.

Iruka blinked a few times and recovered as best he could.

"As I was saying, I will leave you in the care of your new senseis. Remember, you are genin now, and that comes with new responsibility. It has been…interesting…teaching you and I wish you all the best." He bowed to them and left the room to Naruto's shout of, "Thanks Iruka-sensei! I'm gonna be hokage, believe it! And then I'll buy you ramen at Ichiraku!"

Iruka lost the fight to keep from smiling and turned in the doorway to wave to the children he had taught for the last several years. He knew that he would see some of them again soon enough, back at the academy for another year. The real genin tests were difficult, and the jounin senseis were fickle.

Sakura turned to Ino, forgetting her rivalry with the other girl in the face of her sheer bewilderment over what had just occurred. "That was our sensei?" She asked, incredulous. "Where does she even want to meet us? She didn't say where."

Ino's brow wrinkled as she experienced a similar feeling of confusion. "I have no idea," she confessed.

"U-um," Hinata coughed, her fingers fidgeting, "I can f-find Anko-sensei. I can use my byakugan. One moment."

Sakura and Ino turned to watch in fascination as Hinata blinked to reveal opaque eyes, a strange pearly white color. Veins bulged in her face as she activated her bloodline limit. After a minute, she spoke again. "Anko-sensei is at the dango stand by the vegetable market." She blinked again and the eerie byakugan disappeared, replaced by her usual dark eyes and timid expression. Sakura and Ino glanced at each other, then at Sasuke, who was paying no attention to any of them, then back at each other.

"Well, let's go, I guess," Sakura said.

"Really, Forehead, what are you waiting for?" Ino asked, grabbing Hinata's hand and charging out the door.

Soon the three found themselves at the dango stand where Anko waited, leaning against the wall.

"So, kiddies, let's get started," she said, eyes narrowed as she looked at the three little girls in front of her. "Introduce yourselves." There was a moment of silence before the pink-haired one took a step forward and bowed in a formal manner.

"Nice to meet you, Anko-sensei. My name is Haruno Sakura, and I was the top kunoichi in the graduating class." ( _Shannaro!_ inner-Sakura added in glee, _Beat that, Ino-pig!_ )

Anko looked at her, chewing on some dango. "Next," she ordered, her gaze flickering to Ino, who stepped forward and, mimicking Sakura, bowed.

"Nice to meet you, Anko-sensei. I'm Yamanaka Ino."

"Oh," Anko raised an eyebrow. "Inoichi's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Hm," Anko took another bite of dango. "I used to work in T&I, with your dad." She leaned into Ino's personal space and grinned, too wide, seeing the girl try to mask how nervous she was. "You'll do, I guess."

She straightened back up and turned to the last one, who was shaking and curled in on herself. Anko's lip curled.

"H-h-h-h-h" the girl hiccupped, bowing so deeply she almost toppled over. "H-h-hyuuga Hinata, Sensei!"

"Hiashi's brat?" Anko reached out and grabbed Hinata's shoulder in a vice-like grip, yanking the small girl out of her bow. "Stand up straight and stop mumbling."

Hinata paled. She blinked twice at Anko, looking like she was about to pass out. Ino grabbed her elbow to hold her upright.

Anko surveyed the group in front of her, thoughtfully chewing on a dango stick. The three little genin looked so small and innocent, so naive. She was pretty sure she had never been that innocent, even when she was that small. The curse mark on the back of her neck twinged.

"Well, kiddies, let's see if any of you have any potential to be real ninja. Meet me tomorrow at 5 am sharp."

With that, she disappeared in a swirl of leaves and dust, leaving the three children coughing and confused.

* * *

Sasuke sat hunched, chin resting on his interlaced fingers. Shino and Chouji sat nearby. None of them attempted conversation; the only sound that could be heard was the continuous crunch of Choji's bag of chips. There was a small pile of empty shiny bags at his feet, the remnants of the seven bags he had consumed in the past three and a half hours. There was no sign of their sensei. They didn't know anything about the man other than his name.

A few minutes after Iruka had left, and the other teams had been collected by their senseis, a small pug had trotted into the room. The three genin had recognized it as a summons, due to the little blue headband and jacket it wore bearing the Konoha symbol. It stared at them with droopy, disinterested eyes and heaved a long sigh. "Boss says to meet on the roof." Confused but obedient, the boys had made their way to the roof of the school where they hoped answers awaited.

Sasuke glowered at the sky. He should never have trusted that stupid dog. Three and a half hours. So much time wasted, time he could have been training. Their sensei was not going to show up, and Sasuke was furious; how was he supposed to surpass that man and avenge his clan if his jounin sensei was a useless idiot who didn't even show up to collect his team? His initial relief at having avoided a team placement with any of his fangirls or Naruto had been completely replaced by rage, which he fueled by imagining _that man's_ eventual demise in vivid detail. First he would rip out that man's awful red eyes, then he would slice at his spine with a very sharp sword, like Sasuke's mother had been sliced and hacked to death from behind as she kneeled on the floor-

"Yo!"

Sasuke's head whipped around so forcefully that his bangs, tied back by his ninja headband, came loose and tangled in his long eyelashes (Sakura and Ino were jealous of his thick, dark eyelashes which they said were "as pretty as a girl's"). He brushed his hair out of his face and mentally made an appointment with a pair of scissors and the bathroom mirror in the near future. Eyes watering, he scowled at the lean, tall man who leaned against the railing, oozing laziness. His headband slanted over one eye and his silver? gray? white? hair stuck up in every direction, making him at least two inches taller, although his bad posture negated the extra height. He wore the full uniform common to ninja of the Leaf. Faced with this strange enigmatic person, Sasuke wasn't sure what to feel or think, so he decided on his default feeling: anger. He glared an imaginary hole in the man's flak jacket.

"Alright," their strange new sensei drawled. "Why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time."

Chouji glanced at his dark-haired, silent teammates and realized they were not going to volunteer. So he swallowed his mouthful of salt-and-vinegar chips and spoke up.

"Hi everyone, my name is Akimichi Chouji…" he trailed off, not sure what to say next. "What should I say?" he asked.

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies, things like that." Their new sensei replied.

"Well," Chouji said, "I guess I like my family, and my friends, and barbeque. I don't like diets. My dream is to master my clan's techniques and I also want to learn the secret recipe for the sweet and spicy barbeque sauce at my favorite restaurant. My hobbies are training and snacking."

"Mm, as expected from an Akimichi…Alright, next." He pointed to Shino.

"My name is Aburame Shino. I like bugs. I dislike people who talk too much. My dream is to make a lot of money on high ranking missions. Why, you ask? So I can fund insect research. My hobbies are training and taking care of my kikaichu."

"Typical Aburame…" Chouji thought he heard their sensei say under his breath. "Next."

Chouji turned towards his silent teammate, concerned about what Sasuke was going to say. He didn't know the other boy well. The Uchiha clan had always been private and Sasuke was no exception.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke."

If Kakashi was surprised by the undercurrent of anger in the taciturn boy's voice, there was no sign other than a placid blink of his single eye.

"I hate a lot of things," Sasuke continued, biting out the words, "and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality-I'm going to restore my clan and destroy _that man_."

Chouji couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten into, since it appeared that his new teammate was not only an angry loner but also a homicidal maniac. He felt Shino shift next to him, thrown off as well, although the stoic Aburame tried not to show it.

"Mm, as I thought," Kakashi hummed. "Well, you're each unique and you have your own ideas." He sounded as though he was reading from a boring script. "We'll have our first mission tomorrow. It's a task that the four of us will do together-a survival exercise. This is not like your previous training."

Chouji and his teammates watched in tense silence. As prominent members of ninja clans in the Leaf, they were aware that the genin exams were not the final step in becoming a licensed ninja, but their relatives and superiors had always been vague about what the deciding factor was for true graduation. They watched in apprehension as Kakashi-sensei's bland expression morphed into something scarier, a threatening gleam in his single dark eye. He appeared to be enjoying this, and Chouji was mildly worried that their new sensei was a sadist. Although, he thought, no one could be worse than the fearsome woman who had burst into their classroom earlier.

He yanked his attention back to Kakashi-sensei.

"It seems you are already aware, to an extent, but I will reiterate the situation to emphasize the importance of tomorrow's exercise. Of the twenty-seven graduates who have been assigned jonin senseis, only nine will actually be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a pass-fail test, and the chance that you'll fail is at least 66%. The graduation test you already took was to select candidates who might become genin…or they might not. That's how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5 am and bring your gear. That's it-oh, and tomorrow you'd better skip breakfast so you don't puke."

With that charming warning, he threw them a casual, sloppy salute and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Naruto was surprised to learn that Shikamaru and Kiba were on his team. He didn't particularly like Kiba, but Shikamaru was pretty nice when he wasn't asleep, and anything was better than having Sasuke on his team. He was a little sad Sakura wasn't on his team, but also relieved that she and Ino wouldn't be yelling at him all the time. After Iruka-sensei left, their new sensei, Asuma-sensei, had come and collected them. Now, standing by the swing where Naruto had spent much of his lonely childhood, they introduced themselves and Asuma-sensei notified them of their training schedule for the next day. He treated Naruto like he treated Shikamaru and Kiba. Naruto had no idea what to think of that, but he hadn't been beaten up, yelled at, glared at, spit on, or tricked into doing something stupid or painful, so he figured the guy couldn't be too bad.

As their new sensei waved farewell and left, he found himself worrying about this "secondary test" they were going to have the next day. Whatever he proclaimed about becoming Hokage one day, he was aware of his current level. He was at the bottom of the class, and while he might be able to compete against Kiba, the other boy had an advantage in the form of Akamaru. Although Naruto had never seen Shikamaru do anything but sleep through class, he was in fact third-best in the class after Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion Shikamaru could win without much effort.

He was struggling to resign himself to returning to the academy for another year, realism warring with his strong inborn sense of optimism, when Kiba let out a wild shout.

"This is so cool! I can't believe Sarutobi Asuma is our new sensei! He's the son of the Hokage! The Sandaime Hokage-the God of Shinobi!"

"I didn't realize you were such a history buff," Shikamaru yawned. Kiba shot him a look and said,

"I'm not a nerd! I just know the cool guys!" He crossed his arms defensively.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered and glanced at them, his face unreadable, before ambling away.

"Whatever," Kiba grinned, a feral baring of sharp teeth as he pointed at Naruto, "Watch out tomorrow, Uzumaki! Me and Akumaru will kick your butt and then I'll be a real genin! I'm not going back to the academy!" And with that, he ran off, Akamaru yapping at his heels. Naruto stared after him for a minute, then allowed himself to relax, folding into a miserable pretzel as he sat down on the swing and contemplated spending yet another year at the ninja academy. Even his favorite daydreams, rose-tinted visions of himself as Hokage, showered in gold and free ramen by adoring citizens, couldn't dispel his uneasiness over the test yet to come.


	2. Chapter 2

***author's note***

Hi, everyone! This is my first fanfiction and first time using this website so I'd love feedback, it would mean a lot! Please let me know what you think of the characters, plot, writing style, even formatting (I just now figured out how to make those line break things). Anyway here's chapter 2, enjoy!

* * *

Anko crashed into the yawning trio of genin as they huddled in front of the dango stand, shivering in the pre-dawn chill.

"Ah!" Sakura and Ino shrieked as Hinata crumpled to the ground in a graceful faint.

"Get up, Hyuga! Get yourselves together!" Anko yelled, "Meet me at training ground 6!" and she disappeared in a cloud of dust and smoke.

The sudden entrance of their loud new sensei jolted Sakura and Ino alert and they shook Hinata awake. "I-I-I d-don't think I want to d-do this," Hinata squeaked. "Come on," Sakura reprimanded, attempting to live up to her model student reputation even as Inner Sakura ranted about irresponsible, possibly insane senseis. She mentally told herself to shut up.

"I don't think we have a choice."

"We have to go," Ino agreed, frowning. Sakura glanced at her; Ino hated frowning because she felt it would give her premature wrinkles. The fact that her ex-best friend was ignoring potential beauty consequences, let alone agreeing with her, set alarm bells ringing in Sakura's mind.

"Forty push-ups!" Anko proclaimed when they arrived at training ground 6. "You took fifteen minutes to get here. What are you, snails? What the hell do they teach you in the academy anyway?"

"Um-" Sakura opened her mouth to answer the question-basic taijutsu forms, basic chakra theory, the history of the five elemental nations and the major shinobi villages dating back to their founding, how to handle kunai and shuriken-but Anko cut her off.

"That was a rhetorical question, Pinky! Let's make that fifty push-ups since you lot are still standing there!"

Fifty pushups later, Sakura almost face-planted into the dirt, unable to hold herself up any longer. Her arms felt like limp noodles. She fervently regretted dieting so much and conserving her training regime to cardio. She had thought that Sasuke would reject her if she was too muscular, because girls were supposed to be toned and feminine, but now she wished she had incorporated more weight training. She noticed Ino's arms also trembled and assumed the other girl had trained with the same idea in mind. Hinata wasn't fazed by the number of push-ups, and finished hers in half the time it took Sakura and Ino.

"Well, that was pathetic," Anko remarked, staring down at her charges. The pink one looked exhausted already, the blond was failing to disguise how tired she was, and the third, while physically unperturbed, wouldn't make eye contact with any of them. "Whatever," she shrugged. "This is what's going to happen next. Two of you will continue on as genin and one of you will go back to the academy." At their shocked looks, she gave them a bloodthirsty grin, eyes wide and teeth bared in a strange grimace. "This is the true genin exam!"

Anko laughed to herself. The little girls were quaking with fear. Hilarious. "And don't think," she added, moving closer. The three girls tripped over themselves to move back, "I will play favorites. I don't care which clan you come from," she eyed Hinata, "or your family ties," she eyed Ino, remembering when the girl's father had given the same little speech on her first day in T&I. "I don't care about any of that. What I care about is your ability as a kunoichi," she stared at Sakura now, "and if you don't have what it takes, you're done. So, come at me with the intent to kill…or you will fail!"

The girls stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. Anko sighed. Maybe she had scared them too well. "If you won't come to me," she said, "I'll come to you. And then you will really have no chance of winning - and you will fail the exam."

With a fierce yell, the little pink haired girl erupted towards Anko, screaming in a shrill voice. Anko was pretty sure she heard "I won't lose to Ino-pig!" as the girl attempted a weak, clumsy punch. Anko kneed the girl in the stomach and left her wheezing on the ground. "This is pathetic," she stated. "I expect subtlety-what, do you want be ninjas or not? Only idiots charge like that." She kicked the girl once more for emphasis and began scanning her surroundings, noting with satisfaction that the other two girls were hiding in the trees surrounding the clearing.

"We have to come up with a plan or we won't win," Ino told Hinata as they crouched behind a large tree. Hinata had activated her Byakugan and was using it to watch Anko, who loomed over Sakura's crumpled form in a terrifying, predatory manner. "Between the two of us we should be able to do something to pass the test." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Hinata.

"Here's what we'll do. I'll distract Anko-sensei so that you can get close to her and use your fancy secret Hyuuga clan taijutsu."

"W-what about S-sakura?" Hinata asked.

"What about her?" Ino snapped. "She made her move already and screwed it up. It's not our responsibility to help her. She's acting selfish and stupid."

"She's looking right at us!"

Ino swore under her breath. "How does she know where we are?"

Hinata didn't answer, trembling slightly as she kept watch.

"Whatever," Ino grabbed two kunai in each hand. "It doesn't matter. Let's go."

Anko was beginning to get bored with letting the little brats play their hiding game, and was considering smoking them out when several kunai whizzed at her from the trees. Not bad aim, she noted as she deflected them. However, they were all thrown from the same direction and it was too easy to send a few of her own right back.

Ino felt a thrill of terror when Anko batted the kunai aside as if they were made of paper. She grabbed the last handfuls of shuriken and kunai and flung them at her new sensei, less precise than she had hoped-one narrowly missed Sakura, still lying in a heap on the ground. Hinata was struggling to get into close range of their sensei, who was cackling like a rabid hyena as she deflected everything they threw at her.

Anko laughed as the girls charged at her. They were about as subtle as the pink haired girl, wide-eyed and throwing kunai all over the place. Clearly, they were trying to buy time and distract her until the Hyuuga girl was in close range. _Ineffective and a waste of energy_ , she thought as she dodged the Hyuuga girl's outstretched arm. She flipped over her to land right in front of the startled Yamanaka girl, who yelped as Anko punched her in the gut. She pivoted and faced the Hyuuga girl. Hinata painted an odd picture with her eerie eyes blazing, hands lifted and feet apart in the dangerous Hyuuga taijutsu stance, shaking from head to toe. Anko took a threatening step forward and the Hyuuga girl burst into tears, panicking, her Byakugan deactivating. Anko rolled her eyes and swept a foot under the sobbing girl, who landed with a decisive thud in a tangle of inky purple hair and skinny limbs. She surveyed her three charges laid out in the dirt and sighed.

"Well, that was pathetic." she said. She walked over to Sakura, "You are a weak civilian. You think you're so smart but academy grades don't matter out here, pinky, and you'll strangle yourself with your own ego if you don't get over yourself. You wouldn't know subtlety if it punched you in the face. And you two," she said, walking over to stand between Hinata and Ino, "aren't any better. Daddy's little girls, heiresses of your clans, well guess what, you're nothing special. You, Hyuuga, you're nothing but a trained puppet, who won't last a minute in a friendly conversation let alone a fight for your life." She turned to Ino. "And you can't even throw a kunai straight and you're supposed to have graduated from the academy? You almost skewered your own teammate and don't seem to care at all. What a group of useless idiots," she snorted, her lip curled in disgust, "you don't know what it means to be shinobi. This is a career. This is a way of life. What, are you here so you can impress some boy you like? You're playing at something you don't understand, and it will kill you. You don't know anything. You fail."

"No," Sakura coughed as she inhaled a cloud of dust. The movement caused her aching ribs to flare with pain. She raised her head a fraction to see Ino and Hinata sprawled on the ground nearby. Weapons littered the torn up ground. Sakura reached out and grasped a nearby kunai as Anko lectured them. "I can't fail." What would Sasuke think, if she went back to the academy, failing her first day as a genin? She forced herself to stand. She pointed the kunai at her teacher, but Anko did not move.

"Why?"

"What?" Sakura asked, confused.

"What is your motivation?"

Sakura blinked. "Huh?" Her reason for wanting to become a kunoichi? Somehow, she didn't think that a fear of disappointing her crush was going to cut it with Anko. She felt a flash of panic.

Suddenly, Ino was on her feet. "This is stupid!" she said. "What right do you have to ask that personal question? You don't think Sakura has a good reason?"

Sakura stared at her ex-best friend in shock. Even though their friendship had ended as they fought for Sasuke's attention, Ino was standing up for her. The blond girl continued, her hands curled into fists, "If you want answers from us, then what made you become a shinobi, sensei?"

The curse mark on Anko's neck flared and she exhaled sharply through her nose at the sudden pain.

"What do you know," she snapped at the Yamanaka girl. "You're children, naïve and stupid. It's my job as a jonin sensei to prepare my genin team for the reality of life a shinobi, but I don't see how that will be possible when you three are so clearly ignorant of what that really means."

"That's enough!" Sakura's kunai went sailing past Anko's head. "You keep saying that, but how are we supposed to know anything if we don't get a chance to try? You're blaming us and saying we don't know anything, and maybe you're right! We haven't been on missions, we haven't been in real fights, we haven't done any of that, but isn't that your job to show us? We were at the academy! We weren't ninja yet! You say you're a teacher and you're supposed to teach us but so far you've just yelled at us for not having qualities that you're supposed to be teaching us to have in the first place!"

"Fine," Anko's voice was low and her dark eyes glittered, serious and razor-sharp, "You really want to learn so badly? I'll give you a second chance to prove yourselves." All three girls leaped and the training ground was filled with the harsh noise of combat.

* * *

"You fail." The flat pronouncement was a needle that punctured any hope the three boys had as they lay sprawled in the dirt. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep hot tears from leaking down his face as he felt his life plan crumble. His entire body ached. He could visualize the phantom fracture lines running down his forearms and ribs from when he had tried (and failed) to block Kakashi-sensei's kick. He wondered if he had pulled every single muscle in his body and knew that a score of ugly bruises would appear in the next few days. How was he supposed to kill _that man_ when he couldn't even pass a genin test? Anger creeped through him at the thought of failure.

"This was an impossible test," He bit out, trying to keep from screaming. The Uchiha were a proud and noble clan. It would not do to show emotion. It was almost physically painful having to admit that he was so weak, so lacking in power, but he was so frustrated at the unfair nature of the exam that he couldn't accept the result. "You're an experienced jonin. We're three genin. We haven't even been out of the academy for a full day. How are we supposed to compete with you?"

"Exactly," Kakashi replied, twirling the tinkling bells around a gloved finger. "You hit the nail on the head, Sasuke-kun," he hummed, "there is one of me. And three of you."

"Even so," Shino gasped, "the gap in skill level is too great. Why? Because you are Hatake Kakashi, a celebrated jonin of the Leaf. My parents said you are a prodigy. We are just three students."

"Yeah," blood gushed from Chouji's broken nose as he agreed, "We can't compete with you. We tried our best and we didn't get anywhere."

"Trying your best is stupid," Kakashi said, managing to sound half bored and half sadistically cheerful. "And besides, you didn't actually try your best. If you really had tried your best, I would have let you have the bells."

"What?" Sasuke almost screamed in frustration. "Let us have the bells?"

"Well, as you already mentioned, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi continued, "the skill gap is too large for you to steal the bells from me. So," he said, one eye curving up into a smile, "I'll give you a second chance, after lunch. If you try your best this time, I'll let you have the bells. Of course, since there are only two bells, I only brought two lunches, so it looks like Shino is going to have to sit this one out. He was the only one of you who didn't manage to land a hit, so he gets tied to the post, and the two of you get lunch. If you feed him, there goes your second chance. Well, I hope the next round will have a more positive outcome. See you soon!"

With that, he disappeared, leaving two bento boxes behind. Shino blinked as he found himself tied to one of the wood poles. Sasuke and Chouji inched over to the bento boxes and peering inside.

"It's just…lunch," Sasuke said after he had inspected his bento thoroughly, relieved that it wasn't a painful or nasty trick. Chouji was drooling all over his rice, looking like he was about to pass out from happiness at the sight of food. Shino's kikaichu colony buzzed in response to his obvious hunger as Shino's stomach growled. The other boy wouldn't ask for any food, Sasuke realized, but he looked like he was about to faint if he didn't eat. Sasuke clenched his chopsticks as he realized that their sensei was not being as generous as he had appeared when had had offered them a second chance. Without food to help revive him, Shino would be almost useless, and would only get in his way when he tried to get the bells. Also, while it was true that there were only two bells, Kakashi had already proven that even the three of them at full strength didn't stand a chance at getting a single bell, so whittling their number down to two would make the task even harder. On the other hand, if they did feed Shino, they would fail immediately.

Sasuke glanced around the training ground, straining his eyes for any signs that their sensei was still watching. He cursed himself for not yet developing his Sharingan and made a mental promise to train harder. He didn't see any signs of Kakashi, however, so he gathered his courage and made a split-second decision.

Shino coughed as rice was shoved in his face. He tried not to choke on it, sending Sasuke a grateful look. Chouji looked up, a grain of rice dotting his upper lip, and stared in astonishment.

"Chouji," Sasuke ordered tersely, "if you have any left give the rest to Shino. If he doesn't eat anything we'll be worse off when we try to get the bells the second time around."

"But Kakashi-sensei said if we feed him, we'll fail," Chouji said. "And only two of us can get the bells anyway."

"I know that's what he said," Sasuke snapped, "but he's not here right now, so hurry up!"

"O-okay," Chouji offered a single bite of rice, wedged in the corner of the otherwise empty bento box. Just as Shino opened his mouth to eat the last bite of Chouji's lunch, Sasuke felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. He steeled himself and turned around.

Kakashi stood there, his single gray eye as cold as death. Sasuke suppressed a shiver. He'd seen eyes like that before, when _that man_ had flicked blood off his blade in one easy motion, standing over the corpses of their parents. A cold ball of fear coalesced in his stomach, extinguishing his earlier drive and anger. Chouji and Shino were silent and still next to him. Nothing good could come from that frozen glare.

* * *

Naruto gave a shout of pure joy and leaped at Asuma, catching him around the neck in a loving chokehold. Kiba tackled Asuma around one leg as the man stumbled to keep his balance as Akamaru, tail wagging, crashed into his other leg. Shikamaru watched the whole group disappear in a cloud of dust before he approached, a lazy, satisfied smile hovering on his face.

"I did it! We did it!" Naruto hopped up, heedlessly jumping on Asuma's stomach as he thrust his fists in the air in celebration. "We passed!" Kiba howled as Akamaru enthusiastically licked Asuma's face.

"Yeah, yeah," Asuma grumbled, pushing Akamaru away and brushing dust off his pants as he stood up. "We've got a lot of work to do, but I have to say there's a good team balance. Congratulations." Naruto and Kiba whooped with joy.

"I'll race to Ichiraku's, dog-breath! Last one there has to pay!"

"You don't even have any money, dead last! You're on!"

"It won't matter when I beat you!" Naruto crowed as he sped away, Kiba and Akamaru hot on his trail. Shikamaru watched them go, sighing.

"Troublesome."

"Hn," Asuma grunted in response. He looked like he had aged a decade in the past three minutes. For a long moment, Shikamaru looked at him from the corner of his eye. Then he shrugged and meandered down the path blazed by his new teammates.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, how was your first day, sweetie?" Kizashi Haruno asked his daughter as they sat around the dinner table. Sakura was freshly showered and shoveling curry in her mouth at an alarming rate.

"Slow down, dear," Mebuki scolded, "Breathe and remember to chew."

"Yes, mom," Sakura mumbled as she swallowed a huge bite.

"Well?" Kizashi prodded. "How was it? Do you like your new sensei? How about your teammates? Are you and Ino having fun being on the same team together?"

"Um," Sakura shifted. "Well, yeah, it's pretty good so far…"

"So, what did you do today?" Mebuki asked as she passed Kizashi the salt.

* * *

 _"No!" Sakura gasped as she levered herself onto her elbows. "I can't-" She choked back the rest of her speech. This was not the classroom, and she'd have to prove her worth all over again. "We can't fail," she corrected herself. Ino and Hinata looked as miserable as she felt._

 _"Fine," Anko said, "Then show me you're serious. Come at me with the intent to kill."_

 _As Sakura met Anko's cold, dismissive gaze, Hinata and Ino seemed to find their own courage._

 _"We're going to be-no, we already are-kunoichi of the Leaf," Ino said, grasping kunai in a white-knuckled grip, "Right, Hinata?"_

 _"Right," Hinata's voice was barely audible, but there was no stutter or uncertainty. "Let's go!"_

 _No matter how hard they tried, the three of them were soundly beaten several times. Sakura was so tired that she felt like her body was falling apart. Ino and Hinata were swaying next to her, panting, holding a tenuous formation they'd learned in the academy. Anko stood in front of them, completely relaxed and unimpressed._

 _Sakura blinked away black spots and struggled to breathe, her hand tightening around her kunai. There was no distinction between Sakura and Inner Sakura anymore; any polite façade had been quickly beaten out of her. Ino and Hinata shifted in surprise as they noted the wisps of killing intent beginning to leak from their pink-haired teammate. "We won't lose," Sakura vowed, and charged._

 _Sakura's kunai sliced through the air, the metal edge whistling as it impaled Anko-sensei's shoulder-_

 _No, she was unharmed, standing a foot to the left. Sakura remembered the academy textbook lesson on genjutsu and she disrupted her chakra to break the illusion. It bought her just enough time, and she was able to leap out of range of Anko-sensei's strike._

 _"Kai!" Ino shouted, recognizing the genjutsu a moment after Sakura. She stood on the other side of Anko, her once-resplendent blond hair in a ragged ponytail._

 _"Ino!" Sakura yelled and flung a tripwire at her friend. The two stretched the wire between them and leapt at Anko, who bent backwards to dodge, laughing._

 _"Is that all you've got?" she smirked, as they twirled the wire. Anko jumped up, continuing to dodge the spinning trip wire with ease when senbon hurtled toward her courtesy of Hinata, hitting her in the ankle, right below the bone, and along the side of her knee. One caught the inside of her left elbow._

 _Ino and Sakura used this distraction to run, imitating the first formation they'd learned at the academy, wrapping Anko in the trip wire as she tried to dodge the senbon Hinata continued to hurl at her with unerring accuracy._

 _"Alright, you brats!" Anko yelled as she spit out a senbon she'd caught with her teeth. "You pass the test!" The three girls clustered around her, bodies tense with suspicion as they eyed her lying on the ground, trussed in tripwire, resembling a porcupine. She squinted up at them. "I said, you pass! Don't make me repeat myself!"_

 _Sakura, Ino, and Hinata glanced at each other, uncertain, before lowering their kunai and stepping back as Anko effortlessly freed herself. "You didn't suck this time," she said, arms crossed as she looked them over, "You learned from your mistakes and you played to your strengths. Yamanaka, you're a team player and you were able to adapt and assist your teammates. Hyuuga, you used your clan's doujutsu and knowledge of tenketsu points to maximize the amount of damage from the senbon. And you, Haruno, your close combat ability is complete shit but you make up for it by being a mini psycho."_

 _"Um, thanks?" Sakura responded, hesitant._

 _"So what next, sensei?" Ino asked. The three genin were so exhausted that they didn't even consider celebrating their hard-fought victory._

 _"Glad you asked," Anko said, grinning. Sakura wondered if the woman's teeth were sharper than normal or if she was imagining things. "The rest of today will be spent training. I've got a lot to do to whip you lot into anything close to passable kunoichi!"_

* * *

Sakura's parents looked at her expectantly.

"We sparred with Anko-sensei," Sakura hedged. "It was hard."

"Well, that's to be expected, honey," Mebuki responded, reaching over to squeeze her daughter's shoulder in an act of motherly reassurance.

"Yes, you're only twelve," her father chuckled, "and you've got a lot of growing to do still! I'm glad you had fun, though!"

"Yeah," Sakura replied, smiling at her parents as she helped herself to her third bowl of curry.

* * *

"Hokage-sama," Asuma said, bowing stiffly.

"Yes?" The Sandaime glanced at him from under the shadow of his wide hat. Father and son stared at each other as a fly buzzed lazily by the open window.

"I request to discuss the genin placements, Team 10 to be precise, with you," Asuma said, sitting in a formal pose.

"Ah," Sarutobi said. "What exactly did you want to discuss with me?"

"I'll get right to the point. Why did you make me the jonin sensei for the Uzumaki boy? And the Nara boy?" Asuma asked.

The Hokage looked at his son for a long moment. A light breeze tangled the tassels on his hat. "You are a qualified jonin, Asuma. Your stint with the Twelve Guardians demonstrates your abilities as a guard-"

Asuma snorted, ruining his formal composure. The Hokage ignored him and continued, "-and you have wind-nature chakra."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Asuma asked, frustrated and bewildered.

"Don't worry about it now," the Hokage waved a hand absently, reaching down for his pipe. He took a long drag and a wreath of smoke settled around his head.

"What about the Nara boy? He's a genius. Wouldn't it make more sense to place him under someone like Kakashi?"

"Mm, not necessarily." Sarutobi replied. "Hatake Kakashi is not a good fit to teach Shikamaru. Naras are at their most intellectually productive when they have developed emotional ties. They must have a reason to apply themselves. Otherwise, they would rather watch the clouds. Kakashi is unlikely to be able to connect with the boy on a level that would lead to emotional engagement from Shikamaru. He would indulge Shikamaru's laziness and the boy's growth as a shinobi would stagnate. In addition, you are a Sarutobi. Your family has a long history with this village. The Nara clan and the Inuzuka clan will be pleased that you are teaching their children."

"So this isn't about my ability as a shinobi at all," Asuma said, jaw clenched.

"On the contrary," The Hokage said, his tone deceptively mild, "It is about your ability as a shinobi, and as a teacher." His eyes narrowed. Asuma tensed in response to his father's adamant gaze. "Do not mistake this opportunity for mere nepotism. Learn to see outside of yourself."

"I still don't see why you think I will be able to control them better than someone like Kakashi could," Asuma protested. "We all know Kakashi has his own issues to deal with, but why would you assign him the last Uchiha if you think he wouldn't even be able to teach Shikamaru anything? At least Shikamaru is mentally stable. And he'd have a better chance of controlling Naruto should anything happen-"

"This is not about control," Sarutobi interrupted. Asuma's eye twitched. He'd bet his custom chakra knives that "The Professor", the Sandaime Hokage, was a complete control freak. "Let Kakashi deal with his genin team, and you learn to live with yours. You have your own responsibilities, Asuma. Those children require a guiding hand to grow as shinobi, not an iron fist. It is not only the students who learn from the teacher."

"I see," Asuma said after a moment. He bowed. "Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage tipped his head in dismissal, his eyes shaded by the brim of his hat, and watched his son retreat.

Asuma inhaled furiously on a cigarette as he left the Hokage's tower.

"Hey," Kurenai sidled up to him and linked her arm with his. "Did you talk to the Hokage about your team?"

"Yeah," he sighed around a mouthful of smoke. "I just don't know what I'm going to do, it's not like I'm really qualified for this. I hated that he always treats us like children, but now here I am saddled with a ridiculous bunch of children and he expects me to know what to do. I have no idea where to begin. Honestly, the politics of the whole thing are giving me a headache."

"Well, my lot failed miserably. None of them could break the first genjutsu I used, which was a measly D-rank level straight from the academy. I had to knock them out of it almost 14 hours later."

Kurenai chuckled, a friendly echo of the soft laugh that was the last thing her enemies heard before they found themselves ensnared and helpless. Asuma grinned and glanced down at her, meeting her blood-red eyes.

"Well, maybe you can help me out with my team sometime," he said, "they're a handful."

"Sounds like fun," Kurenai snickered.

"Coffee?" Asuma asked, relaxing now that he was walking with her.

"As long as you're paying," she agreed, leaning into him slightly. He poked the dimple that appeared in her cheek when she smiled.

"Well, well, how cute."

Asuma and Kurenai leaped apart as if they had been electrocuted. Kakashi stood lounging against a wall, peering over the top of a lurid, well-worn novel.

Asuma choked on his cigarette, which was burning to its glowing end. Kurenai crossed her arms. "We're not dating," they said at the same time.

"Sure, sure," Kakashi said, "Whatever."

"This is suspicious," Kurenai muttered. Asuma agreed. He couldn't remember the last time Kakashi had voluntarily interacted with them, let alone instigated some sort of mangled attempt at conversation-

"HEY YOU! SARUTOBI ASUMA!"

Asuma turned around just in time to witness an angry chunin bearing down on him like a one-man army.

"What-"

"Don't act innocent! We both know being "loud", or "obnoxious", or "possessing an offensively orange fashion sense" are not valid reasons to fail Naruto! Your bias is blatant, rude, and unconscionable and I will not stand for it! Do you hear me! I swear I will-"

"Seriously, what are you talking about?" Asuma interrupted, straining to get a word in edgewise as the man shouted in his face. "I didn't fail him. They all passed, damn it!"

The chunin stared.

"What?"

"I passed them! Team 10 are all official genin, and yes that includes Naruto." Asuma said, scowling. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Uh," the sheepish chunin scratched the back of his neck, blushing a brilliant red. "Nothing, I guess. Sorry about that. I'd better go."

"Wait," Kurenai said, grabbing his arm. "You're the academy teacher, right? Umino Iruka? Why don't you come get some tea with us and you can tell us what you think of the genin. They were your students, so you must know a lot about them."

"Good idea," Asuma agreed, grabbing Iruka's other elbow, and they steered him towards the nearest tea shop.

Kakashi flipped the page of his book, wondering when the two jonin would notice the confetti-filled explosive notes stuck to the back of their flak jackets. A flash of orange darted into the shadows of the nearest alleyway. Avoiding Naruto's pranks was a lot easier when the boy didn't know him. Anonymity was comfortable. He returned his attention to his book; it was a particularly exciting scene.


	4. Chapter 4

**author's note:** thanks to everyone who followed and/or favorited the story! it means a lot and it's great encouragement for me :) also, thanks to everyone who reviewed, some interesting points were brought up! and i added scene breaks which should help for people who were having trouble following the story, thanks to the reviewer who suggested that.

* * *

Sakura didn't use an alarm clock to wake up anymore. Over the past few weeks she'd grown accustomed to a new, grueling schedule. Wake up at 5 am for a six-mile run around the village. Eat breakfast and strength train. The rest of the morning consisted of sparring and weapons training, with a break for lunch, and then ninjutsu, genjutsu, and mission strategies in the afternoon.

She and Ino had reconstructed their relationship into a friendly rivalry fueled by the spirit of competition. It seemed like eons ago that their friendship had ended over a mutual crush on Sasuke. With Anko-sensei's intense training methods there was no time to stew about their supposed love triangle. Hinata had slipped right into their rekindled friendship, a natural fit who they found to be full of quiet insight and surprisingly stubborn. She'd started wearing her glossy indigo hair coiled into a bun, ever since Anko had singed the ends with a katon jutsu during training. The three of them often felt as though they were narrowly dodging painful deaths. They could never tell if Anko's bloodlust was serious. Normal teachers didn't tie you up in heavy chains and throw you in a river as part of escape training, right?

Sakura's parents were startled when their daughter's appetite tripled. They were always ready with good-natured complaints about the price of groceries. She noticed with surprised happiness when she looked in the mirror that her waist looked slimmer and her limbs sleek and powerful. She wasn't dieting to the extent of fasting anymore, and had a more balanced workout regime. The results showed. Ino agreed and wanted to buy a new outfit to show off the results of their training.

So, with a rare afternoon off, they decided to go shopping. Ino bought a slinky dress in a lurid blue color that made her look five years older and was reinforced with thin metal links to provide an extra layer of protection. Hinata bought a new bracelet that doubled as a garrote.

"Sakura! Is that you?"

She whipped around and came face-to-face with a grinning Naruto.

"I knew it! I was over at Ichiraku's but I spotted your hair so I thought I'd come say hi!"

"How is your vision that good? Ichiraku's is like five blocks away."

"Uh, haha, good question!" Naruto scratched the back of his head, loose-limbed and good-natured. "I guess I just have good eyes! Asuma-sensei said I have to start eating less ramen and more vegetables, so I've been snacking on lots of carrots because they're orange which is my favorite color, and I think they're supposed to be good for your eyes or something, so that must be it!"

"Oh." Sakura noticed that he was no longer wearing his signature goggles and his orange jumpsuit looked somewhat cleaner than usual.

"Asuma-sensei is making me do laundry a lot, too," Naruto said. "He says that I'll grow out of this pretty soon and he's going to buy me a bunch of new clothes! Real ninja stuff! I want one of those cool mesh shirts-oh, hey Hinata!"

"H-h-hi N-Naruto!" Hinata squeaked, bright red.

"I almost didn't recognize you with your hair like that! You look really pretty!"

Weeks of training under a tyrannical Anko kept Hinata from fainting in embarrassed happiness.

"Y-you look very nice too, N-Naruto," she responded, fiddling with one of the senbon in her hair.

Sakura used this moment to exit the conversation, slipping across the street into the nearest store.

A musty smell assaulted her nose as she walked inside. It was a used bookstore, with old mildewing books crammed in shelves from floor to ceiling and overflowing into haphazard piles. Intrigued, Sakura strolled among the towering stacks of books, reaching for one that happened to catch her eye. It was think and the pages were wavy with water damage, but she yanked it out of the shelf and opened it to a random page.

"Nice choice."

She jumped, slamming the book shut and turning to face the stranger, a tall masked man who gestured to her book. He was a ninja, his Leaf headband slanted across his face. "Poisons are very useful," he continued, his singular visible eye a benevolent curve.

"Do you know a lot about poisons?" She knew it wasn't a good idea to talk to strangers, as her mother had drilled into her from a young age, but he had a Konoha headband. Plus, she was used to Anko's aura of barely restrained violence and this guy seemed harmless in comparison.

"Well, it's not my area of expertise," he said, waving a gloved hand. A cloud of dust shimmered in the weak sunlight that streamed through the storefront's only window. "But if you're interested, it is worth it to look into. If you're good at memorization and are willing to pay attention to details, you have the potential to be quite good with them."

"I am!" Sakura responded. She glanced down at the thick tome in her hands. It had seen better days but it did seem interesting. The page she had flipped open described an odorless compound with no antidote, that tasted like salt and caused severe cardiovascular problems and death. The book was full of recipes for all sorts of nasty things, and included sections on antidotes and preventative measures.

"Anything with a green sticker is fifty percent off," the man added, pointing to the sticker on the binding. Sakura checked the price and happily realized she could afford it.

"Thanks! Do you work here?" she asked him.

"Me? Oh, no!" he chuckled. "I'm just a frequent customer."

Suddenly, Sakura realized that he was carrying an armful of brightly-colored pornographic novels. She choked and raised her own dusty text like a barrier between them.

"Well, ah, thanks for the advice! I've got to go now!" And she threw her money at the cashier huddled in the corner and ran out the door.

"She forgot her change," the man rubbed his masked chin. "Ah, the carefree energy of children."

* * *

As Sakura rejoined her teammates, she realized she had, for lack of a better term, jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Naruto looked like he was about to get into a fight with a tall, stately boy who bore a vague resemblance to Hinata.

"I don't care if you're her cousin! You can't treat her like that and expect to get away with it!" Naruto balled his hands into fists.

"How I treat her? You don't know anything," the other boy laughed, voice dripping with scorn. Sakura felt goose bumps rise on her arms.

"Come on, Neji, let it go," a girl, presumably his teammate, tugged on his arm but he didn't budge.

"Yosh! This is not Youthful behavior, Comrade!" A boy in eye-watering green spandex agreed, pulling on his other arm with more success.

"What's that supposed to mean? What do you mean I don't know anything? Are you calling me stupid?" Naruto, incensed, moved to follow the other boy as he was dragged out of the store by his teammates. Ino stepped in front of him.

"Calm down, Naruto," she said. "That's enough."

"I was just trying to-" he protested, but Ino had already moved on.

"Sakura, where have you been?"

Naruto shot a crestfallen look at Hinata and turned to leave.

"I was buying this book-"

"AHH!" Naruto yelped as his sleeve was pinned to the wooden doorframe by a senbon.

"Thank you, Naruto!" Hinata's face was as red as a tomato. "Please keep that senbon as a gesture of my gratitude!"

Naruto stared at her. "Uh, thanks."

"Seriously? 'A gesture of my gratitude'? What are you, an old timey knight?" Ino snorted. "Hey, Naruto!"

"What?" Naruto looked like a startled rabbit as he yanked the senbon from the doorframe and pocketed it.

"You can give that back to Hinata another time. And buy her lunch or something while you're at it. Now we're busy shopping here, so get lost."

From all his years as the village pariah, Naruto had honed a very good sense of impending danger. Ino and Sakura had picked on him in the academy whenever they thought he'd bothered Sasuke-which had been all the time-and Sakura in particular had hit him a lot. Now, he noticed the high degree of muscle tone in her biceps and shoulders. He imagined how much harder her punch was now and suppressed a flinch.

"Alright," he said, glancing at Ino, who glared back, "I guess I'll see you guys later then. See ya, Hinata…Sakura…" and he left before someone punched him.

"Ugh, finally," Ino sighed. "I thought he would never leave. He can't take a hint. Dumb as a box of rocks!"

"Excuse me, Ino," Hinata said, "I-I really don't like it w-when you talk about N-Naruto that way. P-please be more c-considerate."

Ino and Sakura stared at her in surprise. Hinata had never actually asked them for anything before. "Oh, um, sure," Ino replied, embarrassed and surprised. As Hinata bowed, Sakura thought that it was more than her hairstyle that the Hyuga girl had changed since Anko-sensei had accepted them as her team.

* * *

It was barely ten in the morning and Sasuke's training dummy was completely shredded.

"By my estimation, Kakashi-sensei is four hours and twelve minutes late," Shino said. He was sitting cross-legged, using his kikaichu to draw patterns in the grass.

"Hn," Sasuke agreed, grinding the obliterated training dummy into the dirt, pretending it was the remains of _that man_. Team 7 had managed to pass the genin exam but they had yet to do any real training. Kakashi would show up now and then and give them some sort of pointless task and then disappear again. It was infuriating.

"I'm going home," he announced. The solitude of the Uchiha compound was an ever-present reminder of the need to reach his all-consuming goal.

"What?" Chouji asked, chip crumbs all over his face. "But what if Kakashi-sensei shows up?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, "He won't do anything."

"I do not think this is a good idea. Why? Because you will be scolded for skipping training," Shino said.

"I don't care." As Sasuke turned to leave, his teammates exchanged a worried look.

"What's going on here?" Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke right in the middle of the three boys. He hooked Sasuke by the back of his shirt collar. "Where are you going, Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm going home," he said, his shirt still caught in Kakashi's grip.

"But we haven't even started today's training," Kakashi said.

"I know that!" Sasuke almost screamed, but settled for a frigid tone, because he was an Uchiha and screaming would be undignified. "How dense can you possibly be?! I'm going home to train by myself because you never teach us anything. I bet Shino and Chouji are wishing they were home right now instead of stuck here doing some worthless excuse for training!"

Shino and Chouji had been doing their absolute best to avoid the confrontation occurring about five feet away from them, and now found themselves reluctantly drawn in. In fact, they did both wish they were elsewhere, if only to relieve the tense atmosphere. Chouji wished he was in the kitchen of his aunt's restaurant, sampling and helping her cook. Shino just wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet with his bugs, preferably in the old growth forest of the Aburame compound.

"Hm, well it's not my fault if you are sabotaging yourself," Kakashi said, one silver eyebrow arching upwards, his playful tone gaining a darker edge. "If you really don't understand any of the training you've received so far then I can't imagine how the Council made the whopping mistake of labeling you the Rookie of the Year. Your teammates are wasted on you." He lifted Sasuke by his shirt until the boy's feet dangled about four inches off the ground.

Sasuke snapped. He did not blame his teammates-who he understood to be mildly respectable and industrious, if unexceptional shinobi-but his lazy and irresponsible sensei drew his pent-up anger like a magnet. His temper overcame his attempt to stay cool and collected

"You don't know anything! I have to be the best. I have to train so I can kill that man. That is my only goal and you are getting in the way!"

"Hm," Kakashi hummed, swinging Sasuke back and forth.

"Put me down!" Sasuke roared. "You don't understand anything! He massacred my entire clan! He MURDERED MY PARENTS and he SHOWED it to me! They're all DEAD! I came home from school and there was so much blood everywhere and they WERE ALL DEAD!" He paused, gasping a ragged breath. Kakashi's single eye betrayed no emotion. Shino and Chouji stared in horror.

"Thinking you can solve all your problems by killing is immature," Kakashi said, lowering Sasuke to the ground. "Fixation on revenge shows a lack of awareness of long-term repercussions and a lack of understanding of self." He looked Sasuke straight in the eye. "I've been around for a while, a lot longer than you have. But, if you truly think you have nothing to learn from me, then go ahead and leave."

Sasuke stood absolutely still, jaw clenched. Kakashi regarded him for a moment and then turned to the other two, addressing all three. "Today, I want you to cover your entire body with leaves and walk across the river twenty-six times without losing a single leaf."

Sasuke stared at him in disbelief. What kind of training was that? "No. I won't do it." He nodded goodbye at Chouji and Shino and turned to leave, hands thrust in his pockets. Kakashi watched him go, appearing unconcerned.

"Well, you two, the day's not getting any younger."

"Who's fault would that be?" Chouji muttered under his breath. "You were only four hours late, sensei."

"Get started!"

The two genin sighed and turned to collect leaves for the exercise.

* * *

Sasuke had planned to go home, but after the emotional episode earlier, the ominous, somber atmosphere surrounding the Uchiha compound seemed heavier than usual. He decided to take a detour through the marketplace when he heard a girl shout his name.

"Sasuke-kun!"

He turned to see Ino and Sakura waving at him. Of all the luck, he thought to himself miserably.

"Do you have the day off, too?" Sakura asked him eagerly.

"Hn," he grunted, trying to find a route of escape. Unfortunately, the vegetable stall he was in was hemmed in on both sides, a wall of afternoon shoppers blocking any exits.

"I bet Sasuke-kun finished his training early today. He was the star of the academy!" Ino reminded Sakura.

"You're so cool, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed. "What kind of training were you doing?"

"It was a stupid exercise," Sasuke responded, uncomfortable. He couldn't run away because the cashier was taking an agonizingly long time to ring up his tomatoes. "We were supposed to cover ourselves in leaves and run across a river twenty-something times without the leaves falling off."

"Wow," Sakura's green eyes were round with admiration. "That's an advanced chakra-control exercise! We've done some tree-walking and stuff but not like that, but Anko-sensei is really into 'simulated combat scenarios', so-"

"Hn," Sasuke was distracted by the idea that Kakashi's exercise was advanced, but he half-listened to the description of the training her team had undergone with a growing sense of unease. Routinely being hunted by one's sensei to "learn to distinguish high-level usage of the transformation technique" while said sensei had unleashed several venomous snake summons throughout the training ground sounded quite unpleasant.

"Oh, Hinata's calling us!" Ino exclaimed. Sasuke turned and almost didn't recognize Hinata, whose hair was pulled back in an elaborate bun and held in place with deadly-looking senbon. She waved at them. "I bet she's still mad at me for cutting short her lovestruck reunion with Naruto," Ino snorted.

Sasuke was still trying to process that ridiculous sentence when the two girls waved goodbye. Ino flashed him a flirty smile and they wove expertly through the crowd to their waiting friend. Their steps had the quiet, confident control of trained fighters. He was hit with a wave of apprehension as he wondered if every rookie had undergone this kind of warlike transformation. Was he really holding himself back, as Kakashi-sensei had implied?

He was lost in thought as he made his way to the Uchiha compound, still reluctant to go inside. He put his newly purchased tomatoes away and made up his mind.

* * *

Shino and Chouji were both soaking wet and covered in leafy debris as they struggled with the demanding training regimen.

"Maybe we should focus on how much chakra we need to use. If we spread it evenly over our skin, then all the leaves will stick with the same force," Chouji thought out loud as they gathered a new round of leaves.

"Hn."

Shino and Chouji jumped in surprise.

"I did not think you would return," Shino said.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He set about assembling his own pile of leaves. "You also have to allocate the correct amount of chakra to your feet so you don't fall in the water," he said to Chouji. "Concentrating on the leaves and concentrating on water-walking is doing two things at once, but if we can think of them as one thing, this might work."

"What do you mean?" Chouji asked, intrigued.

"If we can find the right ratio of chakra where we can stick leaves to our skin and also balance on the water, then a uniform level of chakra will allow us to complete both sides of the exercise."

"That is a good idea," Shino agreed. "I have deduced that the objective of this exercise is chakra conservation and control."

The two boys nodded at him.

Sasuke felt a quiet relief at their easy acceptance, and a growing sense of possibility as they trained side by side, the sun climbing higher in the clear blue sky.


	5. Chapter 5

**author's note:** hi, everyone! sorry this took 2 weeks to upload :/ i've got a full time job and 3 classes on my plate but i'm planning to upload every 2 weeks! thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. it really means a lot and i take it all into account so please give feedback! it's really helpful & inspiring. thanks for reading~~~

* * *

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed as he watched Kiba and Naruto pound each other into the dirt for the tenth time. Naruto reeled back as Kiba punched him, quickly forming two shadow clones. At least they seemed to be having fun.

"Believe it!" the orange clones yelled in sync as they ganged up on Kiba, while Naruto wrestled with a happy Akamaru, who yipped and licked at his face.

"Ok, that's enough," Asuma said, strolling up to them, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. There was a puff of smoke as one of the Naruto clones disappeared as Kiba landed a right hook to its face.

"It's not our fault you're late," Naruto said, wiping Akamaru's drool off of his cheek.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed, managing to shank the second shadow clone with a kunai.

"It seems like your date last night was a success," Shikamaru commented, his head tilted back to look at the clouds. Naruto and Kiba dissolved in gleeful cackling as Asuma ground the stub of his cigarette beneath his heel.

"Alright, brats," he said, "for that, you get 10 laps around the village."

"Aw," Naruto wailed, "do we have to?" but he was already started, Kiba and Shikamaru on his heels, Akamaru prancing along beside them.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered once again. Asuma smirked.

"Look, sensei!" Naruto shrieked, his voice an octave higher due to excitement, "Look what happened to the leaf!" He held up the small green leaf, neatly split in half. Asuma raised his eyebrows. The Hokage was right - Naruto did have wind-natured chakra. How had the old man known?

"You've got wind-natured chakra," Asuma told him.

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"What about this, sensei?" Kiba asked, holding up a fistful of dirt.

"That's earth," Asuma said. He turned to Shikamaru, who was regarding the tiny pile of ashes in one hand with detached interest.

"Fire nature," he commented, "Interesting." Shikamaru hummed in agreement.

"What does it mean?" Naruto asked.

"This test determines the basic nature of your chakra," Asuma said. "There are five types of elemental chakra, and you three have wind, earth, and fire, respectively. That means that your natural affinity for elemental transformation jutsu will be that type." Seeing that Naruto still looked completely confused, he elaborated. "It means that you have a knack for wind-type jutsu."

"Huh," Naruto rubbed his chin with his hand, looking only mildly less confused. Kiba snorted.

"Wow, no wonder you were dead last," he said, smirking. Naruto rounded on him, fists clenched.

"Shut it, dog-breath! I'm gonna be Hokage someday, so you'd better watch it!"

"Oh yeah? But you don't even know what elemental natures are," Kiba said, "that's like super basic, dude."

"That's enough!" Asuma interrupted before fists started to fly. "Today you'll each learn a basic jutsu that matches your elemental affinity. You've learned some theory about ninjutsu since becoming my genin team, so hopefully this won't be too difficult."

Naruto and Kiba immediately stopped glaring at each other and focused completely on Asuma.

"Can we learn something super badass?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, I wanna be super strong!" Naruto agreed.

Asuma sighed. Those two were either at each other's throats or completely in sync. There was no in between.

"Ok, let's get started," he said. "Do you three remember the hand signs from the academy? Let's have a little quiz before I demonstrate what jutsu you'll be learning."

All three boys sighed in unison and Asuma had to repress a grin.

* * *

"This is so gross!" Sakura hissed, trying not to breathe through her nose as she stood in front of the pigsty. The fat animals snuffled around in the mud, oinking furiously.

"There should be a law against this," Ino agreed, "It's disgusting."

"Let's just t-try to get it over with," Hinata said, her face tinged with green.

"It just smells so bad!" Sakura wailed, eyes watering.

"Oh, grow a pair," Anko snorted. The three girls jumped and turned to see her lounging casually against a fencepost.

"But, sensei-"

"You don't even have to go inside! Your job is to mend the roof! Stop whining and get to it!"

The three girls knew better than to protest and set to work.

"Ugh, this is so boring," Anko sighed less than five minutes later, lounging in the grass. The three genin were hard at work fixing a leaf in the pigsty roof. "I never would have taken this job if I had known I'd just be babysitting a bunch of dumb brats on stupid D-rank missions…if only Hokage-sama had let me stay in T&I full-time…" She sighed so loudly that Ino heard her and looked over in confusion. "Get back to work!" Anko shouted and threw a half-eaten tomato at her.

"Yes, sensei!" Ino called, ducking the tomato and hammering at the roof with new-found fervor.

"Ok, that's it," Anko made a snap decision and flickered into existence right next to the three genin. She perched on the edge of the roof, the gutter dipping slightly under her weight. "Let's spice things up a little bit. Finish this task in the next 10 minutes or I'll make you take an inventory of all the sheep."

"That's not part of the mission!" Sakura said.

"Shut it, Pinky, it is if I say so. The farmer's mission request was just 'help around the farmstead' so, if I say you're helping by counting sheep then that's what you'll do."

They stared at her in dismay, but if they had learned anything during training so far, it was that their sensei's word was absolute.

"Yes, Anko-sensei," they droned.

"Then what are you waiting for! The clock's ticking! It's already been a minute and a half!" Anko said, cackling as she disappeared, only to reappear on the ground below, using a small fire jutsu to roast a sweet potato from the garden.

"How are we supposed to finish this in eight minutes?" Sakura hissed.

"We'll just have to do what we can," Ino surveyed the rooftop in dismay. The leak had a while to go before it was patched up completely.

Sakura glanced over at the field where countless sheep milled about, and groaned.

"I h-have an idea," Hinata said. "W-why don't I patch the leak and you two can help." She looked determined, armed with a caulking tool in one hand.

Ino and Sakura glanced at each other and nodded.

"There's no time to waste!" Hinata said, activating her Byakugan and diving into action. Ino and Sakura handed her roof tiles as fast as they could. The assembly-line-style plan worked, and soon the leak was patched, Hinata's bloodline limit ensuring that every part of the repair was watertight.

"We did it," Ino was clearly relieved.

"Good plan, Hinata," Sakura added. Hinata dipped her head in thanks, blushing.

"Not good enough, kiddies!" Anko crowed, appearing on the roof and catching Sakura and Ino in a headlock. "You're forty-three seconds over the time limit!"

"Gakhh," Sakura protested, trying to remove herself from Anko's strangling embrace.

"Time to go make sure all the sheep are accounted for!" Anko flung Ino and Sakura off the roof, not watching to see them land as she grabbed the back of Hinata's shirt and threw her. All three crash-landed in a bush, a tangle of limbs and roofing equipment.

"This is starting to get more fun!" Anko grinned to herself and fiddled with a shuriken as the girls disentangled themselves and set off for the pasture, nursing bruises and picking leaves from their hair.

* * *

"Hey! Hey! Asuma-sensei! Asuma-sensei!"

"WHAT, Naruto?"

"Can you teach me a really cool jutsu? Something super-awesome?"

Asuma squinted at Naruto, who was nothing more than an orange blur as he bounced with excitement at the prospect of ninjutsu. He could feel the beginning of a headache, a slow throb building behind his eyes.

"Ok, fine," he said, "Shikamaru, Kiba, why don't you two work on the basic jutsu I just showed you. Naruto, here's a simple wind jutsu. It's ok if you don't get it the first time around-"

"But sensei, you already showed me a boring one! I want to learn a COOL one!"

"But you haven't gotten that one down, Naruto. Your small wind blast jutsu is…well, you haven't mastered it yet."

Kiba snickered. Naruto had been trying for three hours to perform the jutsu but so far, instead of creating an abrasive blast of wind, he'd only managed to exhale slightly longer than normal.

"Pleeeeeease, Sensei," Naruto begged.

"Fine," Asuma shrugged. "Here's an A rank technique. You three should stand back for this one."

"Yes!" Naruto pumped both arms in the air in anticipation. Shikamaru wandered over, looking intrigued despite himself, and Kiba and Akamaru looked equally as excited as Naruto to see a high ranked jutsu.

Asuma took a deep breath and moved through the hand signs, performing the jutsu with breathtaking ease. A huge, concussive blast of wind erupted, driving huge swirls of dust into the air. The three boys coughed, their eyes watering.

"Amazing!" Naruto gasped, choking on the dust. "Can I try it, sensei?"

Asuma looked at him, skeptical.

"Why not," he said, curious in spite of himself. From what he'd seen, Naruto was unable to make even a regular substitution jutsu correctly, and was failing so far at the simple D-rank wind jutsu Asuma had assigned him. However, he'd managed to form over fifteen shadow clones, a high level jutsu, during the teamwork test.

"The seals are Horse, Monkey, Bird," Asuma said, quickly grabbing Naruto by the shoulders and steering him towards an empty patch of the training ground, since he looked ready to try immediately and blow both his teammates out of the way.

"Got it, sensei! Watch this! I'll learn all the cool jutsu and then they'll have to make me Hokage!" he bounced on his toes in excitement, clumsily forming the hand signals, his tongue poking out in sheer concentration.

"Sure," Asuma replied, an eyebrow raised in skepticism as he lit a cigarette and took a drag, watching his young student carefully.

Naruto inhaled and finished the last seal.

A tidal wave of sharp, driving wind and dust swirled in front of him, snapping branches and fracturing tree bark on the other side of the training ground.

"Holy shit," Asuma muttered, his cigarette falling from his mouth in surprise.

"Woah," There was a newfound respect in Kiba's eyes as he gaped at a pleased Naruto.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, taking in the destruction, but he didn't look too bothered by it.

"I did it!" Naruto cheered, laughing as Akamaru pounced on him and began licking his face.

"Not too bad, brat," a new voice said, low and raspy.

Kiba jumped about a foot in the air.

"Mom?!"

"I came to see how your training was going," Tsume replied, absentmindedly scratching her huge dog behind his ear. Asuma's eye twitched in annoyance. He'd been so surprised by Naruto's A-ranked technique that he hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Not bad, kid," she winked at Naruto. She thumped Kiba in the arm good-naturedly. He almost fell over. "You've got some potential if this is your team, my boy. Anyway, if you need some help wrangling these brats into line, let me know, Asuma-san," she said. "In the meantime, it'll be great to see you all later tonight!"

"What?" Asuma managed to ask. Tsume halted, turning to Kiba.

"You didn't tell them? What did I ever do to deserve an idiot son like you!" She lectured a guilty-looking Kiba.

"My mom told me to invite you all to dinner tonight," he mumbled, kicking at a pebble. "At seven-thirty."

"Come hungry!" Tsume said cheerfully, her wide grin causing all three genin to flinch slightly. "Train hard!"

They stared after her as she walked away, the hulking dog loping alongside her.

"Well, if we're going to be eating dinner at the Inuzuka compound, we'd better call it a day." Asuma said, squinting at the sun. "Give yourselves some time to get ready. And Naruto, wear something nice."

"I've never been to a dinner party before!" Naruto vibrated with intense excitement. Shikamaru subtly edged away from him. "What am I supposed to wear? Do I have to bring something?"

Asuma recalled the messy wreck of an apartment that Naruto lived in and mentally winced.

"Ok, Naruto, I'll help you get ready. Kiba, Shikamaru, why don't you head home."

"Yes, sensei," they responded, waving to him and Naruto as they left. Naruto turned to Asuma with a grin that could rival the sun.

"They waved to me, sensei," he said, "this day just keeps getting better and better!"

Asuma couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

"Hey, Shikamaru, hurry up! Let's go!" Naruto shouted, "We're going to be late!" His newly ironed shirt was the whitest item of clothing he'd ever worn and he was hopping back and forth in agitation. They had met outside the Nara compound to walk to the Inuzuka compound together, but Naruto was already regretting that decision due to Shikamaru's snail-like pace.

"What's taking you so long?" he asked. Shikamaru frowned, staring at something Naruto couldn't see.

"Ino?" Shikamaru called.

A girl, covered in mud, her blond hair a whirled mess of twigs and leaves, her clothes torn, turned around. "Shikamaru?" she asked.

"Woah," Naruto muttered, "What happened to you?"

"How are you, Shikamaru?" she asked, absentmindedly tugging a leaf from her hair.

"Fine," Shikamaru replied. "What happened?"

"Oh, this?" Ino waved in a vague manner, "We had a mission today."

"Doing what, exactly?" Naruto asked, incredulous.

"Oh, mending a roof for a farmer," Ino said. "But Anko-sensei got bored and decided we should train at the same time. I'm sure you can guess the effect of nearby exploding tags on a herd of sheep? It took us the whole day to track them all down."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said.

Ino sighed. "Tell me about it," she agreed.

"Ino! Shikamaru!" Chouji called, waving, jogging down the street with his teammates in tow.

"Hey, Chouji! Sasuke-kun!" Ino grinned at them. "and hi, Shino," she said, eyeing his sleeves as if bugs would emerge at any moment. "Where are you all going together?" she asked, noticing they were still in uniform.

"We have a mission," Chouji responded, grimacing. "We've got to meet Kakashi-sensei in ten minutes to go catch some old lady's cat."

"Oh, Tora?" Naruto asked. He grimaced in sympathy. "That thing is an absolute beast. We only managed to track it down because Shikamaru figured out where it was so we didn't have too much trouble catching it. It's not a real cat though, it's a complete demon. Kiba's still scarred, I think. Don't ask him about it, he'll sulk all day."

"Hn," Sasuke's eye twitched. He looked like he was going to have a heart attack, either from the pity Naruto was directing at him, or formerly sloppy dead-last's state of cleanliness.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Naruto grinned and smoothed down his wrinkle-free, pristine shirt. "We're going to Kiba's for dinner!"

"Sorry to cut this short but we've got to go or we'll be late," Shino interrupted.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

"Yeah, it's not like Kakashi-sensei will be on time," Chouji agreed.

"Well, I've got to take a shower," Ino yanked a twig out of her hair with a wince. "Today was long. But I'll see you guys later! Shika, Chouji, we've got to catch up for real soon!"

"Uh, ok," Chouji said.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said again.

"We don't want to be late either!" Naruto almost yelled, wringing his hands, reminded of his previous urgency. "I've never been invited to dinner before! What happens if we're late!"

Shikamaru opened his mouth- "Troublesome," Chouji remarked, beating him to the punch. He shrugged. "Well, see you later, then."

"Bye! Good luck catching the demon cat!" Naruto called, grabbing Shikamaru by the elbow and dragging him along as he ran down the street.

"Bye," Ino clapped Chouji on the shoulder and heading in the direction of her own house.

"It's like she and Naruto swapped hygiene regimens," Chouji muttered, once she was too far away to hear. Sasuke and Shino were slowly growing used to their teammate's hidden yet strong strain of sarcasm.

"Their sensei is crazy, apparently," Sasuke said.

"How'd you hear that?" Chouji asked, surprised.

"Does it matter?" Sasuke replied, irritated. "Let's just go bag this cat and get this over with. How hard can it be?"


	6. Chapter 6

**author's note:** hola everyone, uploading this in a hurry so please let me know if there are mistakes! i'm actually kind of proud of this chapter, so please let me know if you like it! thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited the story, it really makes my day and it's great that people are enjoying it so far :) if you have any comments or questions or ideas please tell me, it's great when readers engage :D

~enjoy~

* * *

"Ah, my precious kitty! Tora-chan, my sweet little cat, how I love you like my own child!" The woman hugged the hissing beast, tears sliding down her round cheeks as she covered its matted fur in kisses.

Shino flinched as the cat clawed at the woman's elaborate hairstyle. It had been a hellish evening trying to track the target down, and their first attempt at trapping it had decimated his kikaichu colony. It had taken several yards of ninja wire and a sacrificial move from Sasuke to finally nab it, and the Uchiha boy had scratches littering his arms.

 _What a stupid excuse for a mission,_ Sasuke thought, trying to distract himself from how much his wounds stung. Team Seven was crowded on the doorstep of a large mansion as the portly woman affectionately mauled her pet.

"No wonder the cat ran away," Chouji muttered.

"Don't ever run away again, you hear?" the woman scolded the angry cat. "Now, let Mommy get you some cream and a nice fish filet." She disappeared inside the house, the ornate door slamming shut behind her.

"Well, that's that," Kakashi said. "Ready for the next mission?"

* * *

"Now then…the next mission for Kakashi's seventh squad is…Hm…An errand to the neighboring town…to babysit the chief Councilor's boy…Helping with digging for potatoes…"

Sasuke mentally shuddered at more missions with fat, stupid, sticky, screaming children and aimless housekeeping tasks.

"Isn't there a mission with a greater sense of urgency?"

Had he said that out loud?

"…Hokage-sama…" he added belatedly. His teammates stared at him in dismay. Kakashi sighed.

Iruka, from his position beside the Hokage, frowned. As the head chunin in charge of non-classified mission assignment, as well as their former teacher, he was dismayed Sasuke was being so disrespectful.

"At the bottom of the ranks, everyone moves up the ladder by gaining experience from simple missions," he explained.

Sasuke folded his arms. Now that he'd already dared to ask, he was not about to go back on his request.

"How are these missions supposed to hone our skills if we don't do anything useful?" He pointed out. "We are expected to act like ninja of the Leaf, so we should be treated accordingly."

Kakashi smacked Sasuke up the back of the head. "Knock it off."

Sasuke raked a hand through his hair and glared at his sensei.

"Sasuke!"

The old man looked benevolent at first glance, the crow's feet by his eyes signs of laughter and kindness, but there was a gravity about him, a heavy air that thickened as he stared at Sasuke from the shadow of his hat.

Shino sunk a little further behind the high brim of his coat.

"I see it is necessary to explain to you what a mission is," he took a slow puff of his pipe, dark eyes glittering behind the smoke.

Chouji wondered how the Hokage managed to make smoking a pipe look like a threat.

"Requests pour into the village every day. They range from babysitting to assassinations…These are all recorded and separated according to difficulty."

Sasuke shifted back and forth on his heels. Every kid in the academy knew this. Was the old man trying to humiliate him with this lecture?

"They are ranked A, B, C, and D, in descending order of difficulty," the Hokage continued mercilessly, pinning him in place with the weight of his stare. "In the village, everyone below me is divided up by ability in the order of jonin, chunin, and genin. Those of us at the highest level distribute the requests as missions to shinobi who have abilities that are suited to the mission. The client pays us for a successful mission. Nevertheless, you have just become genin…D rank missions are the best you can do."

Sasuke stuffed his fists into his pockets. He regretted opening his mouth but his pride would not allow him to apologize. He stood ramrod straight, stiff-backed, unwilling to acquiesce, and met the Hokage's eyes defiantly.

Chouji thought he heard their sensei mutter, "I'm going to get scolded later, what a pain," as the man lazily scratched his neck. The awkward, tense atmosphere in the room only grew as Sasuke and the Hokage stared at each other. After a moment, the Hokage leaned back in his seat, folding his hands.

"Alright," he said with a trace of a smirk lingering on his wrinkled face, "If you insist…I'll have you do a C rank mission. You'll be bodyguards for someone. I'll introduce you now. Could you please come in?" he called in a loud voice. The three genin and their teacher turned toward the door, which slid open to reveal a gnarled hand gripping a cheap bottle of liquor. As the rest of their client came into view, Sasuke regretted his outburst even more than before.

"What's this? It's just a bunch of small brats!" The man screeched, taking a long swig from the bottle. Alcohol ran down his chin and soaked his ratty beard. He propped himself against the doorframe for balance, trying to look casual but clearly drunk. "You look like a bunch of idiots. Especially you, with the pale girly face," he pointed at Sasuke, who scowled, furious. "What pissed in your breakfast, kid? Are you guys really ninja?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Kakashi put a restraining hand on his shoulder, gripping hard enough to leave a bruise.

"Think, Sasuke," he warned in a low tone. "What good will it do to kill the man you're supposed to be guarding?"

"I'm Tazuna, veteran bridge builder!" The old man slurred. "You'll be risking life and limb, guarding me to the limit of your ability until I return to my land and complete my bridge!" He hiccupped, ruining the drama of his introduction. Chouji, Shino, and Sasuke glanced at each other. This was their first C rank mission. Sasuke knew this was supposed to be a lesson in questioning the rules, and disrespecting his elders, but there was a slight thrill as he thought about completing a high-ranking mission (well, relatively high-ranking). Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, all of whom he had written off as weaklings in the academy, were probably slaving away on a D rank farce somewhere, despite their impressive recent progress. Naruto had definitely never done anything like this, the loser.

* * *

"Yah! What the heck, this is terrifying!" Naruto panted as he hid in the branches of a tall tree, fleeing the stampeding feral boars, two or three times his size, that were intent on goring him. Their tusks gleamed in the afternoon light as their tiny beady eyes shone with lethal intent.

"This is all your fault for whining at the Hokage about dumb D-rank missions!" Kiba yelled back from his perch in an opposite tree, Akamaru cowering in the hood of his jacket. "You asked for this!"

"We have to drive them and trap them," Shikamaru said, ignoring his squabbling teammates. "That's the only way we're getting out of this in one piece." His face was grim. They stared at him in horror.

"There's like twenty of them! How are we supposed to do that?" Kiba asked.

"We'll make them go in one direction and then trap them with an earth wall," he ordered.

"I can do that!" Kiba looked relieved to have a plan of action. "But how are we going to get them to move together?"

"Leave that to me!" Naruto grinned, a dimple appearing on his whiskered cheek. Kiba stared at the orange menace in apprehension. Naruto gave a sloppy salute and disappeared into the trees, hopping between branches with the considerable speed of the nimble, hyperactive child he was.

"Where is Asuma-sensei when you need him?" Kiba muttered. "Of all the times to tkae a smoke break!"

Shikamaru was silent. He had recently stopped saying his catchphrase "troublesome", proclaiming that it was too troublesome to keep saying all the time, since every situation with his team fit that description. Several loud bangs flashed nearby, the distinct acrid smell of explosive tags drifting towards them.

"Watch out guys, here they come!" Naruto yelled, as he flung explosive tags attached to shuriken towards the feral boars rooting through the undergrowth.

"Naruto, wait!" Shikamaru called, his usually lazy expression wide with alarm. "You're going to set the forest on fire! It hasn't rained in three weeks!"

"Shit," Kiba swore, swiftly running through the seals for an earth jutsu in an attempt to contain the explosions.

"What?" Naruto yelled. "I can't hear you! My ears are ringing from the tags!"

"That's why you don't set them off next to your own head!" Kiba snarled, struggling to dampen any potential fires with earth.

"Can you handle this, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked. "I'm going to go get Naruto before he does anything else."

"Hey! I can still read lips you know! You take that back, Shikamaru!" Naruto pointed at him, hopping up and down on a broad branch. It snapped.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" He plunged into the midst of the wild boars, which were running about crazed with fear of the fire and explosions. Naruto hurriedly pulled a substitution jutsu to avoid being trampled and found himself astride one of the boars. "Woah!" he shouted, holding onto it for dear life as it squealed in surprise at the added weight and charged through the brush, headed straight for a large tree. Naruto screeched in alarm and grabbed its ear, tugging sharply. The boar jerked its head around, and in doing so changed course, narrowly avoiding a collision with the huge tree.

"That's it!" Naruto gasped, his eyes widening as an idea came to him. "I'm a genius!" he shouted as he made a score of clones. Cheers and whoops filled the air as they popped into existence, raining down onto the already terrified and confused herd of boars. "Steer them by the ears!" Naruto shouted to his other selves. "Yessir!" they chorused, each latching onto a boar. "Chaaaaaarge!" Naruto screamed, yanking on the hapless animal's ears as the others followed, a mad dash of tiny orange ninja perched atop a pack of large, murderous animals.

* * *

"My feet hurt," Keiko whined.

"I'm hungry," Ayame chimed in.

"Are we there yet?" Sato asked for the trillionth time.

Ino was completely fed up with this mission already.

"No, we've only been traveling for fifteen minutes," she managed to respond, grinding her teeth, cursing Sakura for snagging point position.

"Why don't we play a game?" Hinata suggested, her quiet voice a pleasant contrast to Ino's impatience. The children turned to her and she smiled at them. "Do you three know how to play 'I Spy'?" They nodded, Sato sucking his chubby little thumb. "Okay, great," Hinata said. "Why don't you start, then, Ayame."

"Okay!" The little girl responded, hunger forgotten. "I spy with my little eye…something green!"

"Tree!" Sato shouted, removing his thumb from his mouth with a disgusting string of drool. Ino suppressed a grimace.

"Nope!"

"Mama's dress?" Keiko guessed.

"That was quick," Ayame said. "Your turn!"

"I spy with my little eye…um…uhhh…ummm…"

"Just pick something!" Ino was not getting paid enough for this job.

At first, an escort job had sounded fancy and exciting, especially since it was their first C rank mission. It was turning out to be maddeningly anticlimactic.

"Um, okay! I spy with my little eye something pink!"

"Sakura's hair?" Hinata guessed, smiling.

"Yeah! That was fast! You must be really smart!" Keiko gazed at her admiringly. Hinata laughed, blushing. Ino scowled. Only three more hours of this to go, she promised herself.

* * *

"Whew! Thank god that's over with!" Naruto sighed, blue eyes bright in his grimy face. His jumpsuit was torn and dirty, its original orange replaced by a thick layer of dirt, mud, and wiry boar hair.

"You stink," Kiba clapped a hand over his sensitive nose, eyes watering. Akamaru whined in agreement and sneezed.

"Well, at least the targets are accounted for," Asuma-sensei said, lounging against the low earthen wall Kiba had erected to contain the herd of boars as Naruto and his clones rode them into the enclosure, triumphant. Shikamaru sighed, the ends of his hair singed from trying to contain the forest fire. Asuma had quenched it with a couple of well-placed, powerful water jutsu, but he was unhappy with the team performance.

"Naruto," their sensei said, in what the three genin recognized as his beginning-of-a-lecture tone, "You took initiative but you didn't consider the variables. On a mission, always consider the dynamic of the situation. That includes not only the plans, formations, and situation of the enemy, but also your surroundings, the physical landscape, and the weather. Otherwise, you will end up in a situation like you did today."

"Yes, Asuma-sensei," Naruto drooped in a sad, lopsided apologetic bow.

"However," Asuma continued, "Team Ten did complete the mission." Shikamaru looked less than thrilled at that pronouncement, dusting ash off his shoulder. Kiba scowled and punched Naruto in the arm.

"Ow!"

"Congratulations on your first successful C-rank mission!"

* * *

"So, Tazuna-san, your country is the Land of the Waves, right?" Shino asked from behind the brim of his jacket.

"What of it?" Tazuna replied, taking a swig of his ever-present bottle. Chouji wondered how anyone could drink something like that so early in the morning. Even Sasuke, born with the Uchiha poker face, looked slightly repulsed.

"Are there no ninja where you come from, Tazuna-san?" Shino's monotone attempt at polite conversation continued.

"No," Kakashi said, "There aren't ninja in Wave. Not like in our village, anyway. Don't worry too much about it," he ruffled Shino's hair (cautiously, flicking a stray kikaichu off his fingernail). "There aren't any ninja battles in C rank missions."

* * *

"I spy with my little eye…" Sato mumbled as he sucked his thumb. Ino's eye twitched. They had been playing this game for two hours. She was bored out of her mind. Team Eight and their clients, a family of five, meandered down the wide forest road on the way from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, where they had been visiting some cousins, back to their hometown at the edge of the forest.

"Something black!" the little boy said.

"Daddy's suitcase?"

"No!"

"Hinata-san's hair?"

"No, her hair's purple, idiot!"

"Mommy! Ayame called me a bad word!"

"You two be quiet back there! Don't make me come back there!"

"Yes, mommy!"

"Is it the carriage wheels?" Hinata asked.

"Nope!" Sato smiled.

"Is it mommy's coat?"

"No!"

"There's nothing else that's black, Sato!" Keiko and Ayame were frustrated.

"Yeah there is!" their little brother responded, pointing a chubby finger towards the forest, where a dark shape flitted through the trees. Ino froze. The children gasped as Hinata activated her Byakugan. A second later, she was scooping them all up, yelling, "Sensei! Four hostiles at two o'clock and two at four o'clock!"

"Formation!" Anko immediately snapped into action, herding the parents into the carriage and dumping their children inside as well. The three girls drew kunai and scanned the forest for any sign of the enemy.

Six ninja charged from the trees. Ino didn't know where to look. Her hands were clammy with fear and she tightened her grip on the kunai as one of them rushed towards her.

A shuriken whistled past her head and another grazed her bicep. The pain jolted her into action and she ducked the enemy's blow, coming up under his guard and stabbing him in the ribs. The man made a noise of choked surprise as blood spurted from the wound, hitting her in the face. The man grunted and tore himself away, grabbing her by the ponytail and yanking her head back, raising a knife to slit her throat.

Ino bent backwards and kicked her leg up, catching him in the wrist and loosening his grip on the knife. She threw her kunai and although the throw was badly aimed since the handle was slick with blood, it managed to pierce deep into his right shoulder and he released her hair with a muffled shout of pain. Ino quickly put some distance between them and found herself next to Hinata, who had efficiently taken out her own enemy with a few choice Hyuuga taijutsu moves. The dark-haired girl flung a handful of senbon. Ino's attacker was weakened by his bleeding stab wounds and unable to dodge them. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Ino's breathing was shallow and choppy with fear and adrenaline but she forced herself to assess the situation. None of the hostile forces had reached the carriage. Hinata was unhurt and Anko was cackling like a rabid hyena as she pummeled three of the mysterious attackers. Sakura was up at the front of the procession, and there was one enemy unaccounted for.

"Let's make sure Sakura is okay."

"Alright, you go ahead and I'll guard the clients," Hinata replied. Ino nodded and took off up the path.

Sakura was struggling with a hulking man twice her size. The enemy appeared to have the upper hand. Ino watched in horror as he drove his palm into Sakura's nose, breaking it with a loud crack. The pink-haired girl reeled backwards, tears streaming from her eyes and mixing with the blood dripping down her face. The man laughed, low and sinister.

Ino grabbed a kunai, sick to her stomach. It was like watching a cat play with a mouse. She hurled the missile at him and charged, but the kunai bounced off his armored forearm. He clotheslined her, his muscular arm connecting with her neck. Ino's head snapped back and she fell, choking and coughing. The man wrapped his huge, scarred hands around Sakura's neck and squeezed. Ino's eyes swam with tears as she heard her best friend gasping for breath.

Sakura pulled at the man's fingers as she struggled to breathe. Hateful eyes and a twisted smirk loomed above her. Black spots filled her vision and she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She began to panic, strong, overwhelming, pure terror at the thought of dying.

"I can't die now, I'm only twelve!" She tried to say, but didn't have the air to make the smallest sound. Her hands dropped to her side and brushed against the hilt of a knife. Sakura grabbed it, blindly stabbing upwards. She felt the pressure on her neck disappear as the man released her suddenly. Choking, she tried to drive it deeper, meeting resistance as it hit bone and cartilage.

 _I must have gotten him in the right side of his ribs_ , she thought in a daze. _If only it was the other side, I might have gotten his heart_.

He snarled and backhanded her across the face. Sakura staggered with the blow, her grip tight on the knife as it tore away from his chest. He charged at her and she thrust it forward again. She was able to see and breathe somewhat better by now, and the blood-slick knife entered his stomach to the hilt. She yanked upwards and he moaned, the strange, harsh noise of the dying.

Sakura realized this was the knife she had coated in poison last week, experimenting with one of the recipes in her new book. While she had dealt him a mortal blow with the abdominal wound, his death would be much quicker due to the poison in his system. Sakura had a very theoretical thought process and had had never really considered using the techniques in the book on an actual person. She could only stand there and watch as he collapsed. The man's lips turned blue and he gaped like a fish, his eyes rolling back in his head as he convulsed. Ino stared in horror from a few feet away as the enemy ninja started to foam at the mouth, blood spreading from his shoulder and stomach.

"What do we have here?" Anko remarked, eyeing the dying enemy and her two shell-shocked charges. She looked none the worse for wear from her own fight, her beige trench coat immaculate. She crouched down, careful to avoid any mess as she slit the man's throat, calm and efficient and quick. Sakura made a tiny noise, swaying on her feet, looking faint.

Ino felt bile rise in her throat as she watched her teacher kill the man and knew she was going to throw up. She stumbled over to the tree line. Hinata looked over from where she was tying up the four unconscious assailants, concern in her violet eyes.

"What happened?" she asked. Ino shook her head, wiping vomit from her mouth with her sleeve.

"Don't worry about it," Anko appeared behind them, carrying a passed out Sakura. "Can you two finish the mission?"

"Yes, sensei," Hinata said, barely hesitating. Ino didn't trust herself to speak, but she nodded in agreement. She was a kunoichi of the Leaf, and there was no way to go but forward.


	7. Chapter 7

**note:** enjoy! struggled to finish this one on time, but hopefully you guys like it!

also, what do you think of the chapter lengths? are they too short/too long/what do you guys think? lemme know!

when you favorite/follow/review i gain another life, my skin is clear, my crops are thriving and the sun is shining, it really means a lot :D

* * *

They'd been walking for hours, the sun continuing its lazy, inexorable arc through the soft blue sky. The harsh call of a crow split the pleasant mid-afternoon silence.

Suddenly, there was a hiss of whirring metal and the crash of footsteps from behind them. Chouji whirled around just in time to see two ominous figures ensnare Kakashi in a tangle of serrated whips. The enemies were dressed in dark, ragged shinobi gear and their eyes burned with bloodthirsty focus.

"The first one," one of them snarled, and the genin and their client could only watch in horror as Kakashi exploded in a fountain of blood and chopped, mangled organs and-God, was that a hand or a foot?

"Kakashi-sensei!" Chouji screamed. From the corner of his eye, he registered Shino strike a defensive pose in front of the client, who looked as terrified as Chouji felt. He felt a stir of air and the hair on the back of his neck rose.

"The second one!" the pair of enemy ninja snapped their metal chains towards him and Chouji dived forwards in the nick of time, somersaulting as Sasuke vaulted over his back, flinging a shuriken and then a kunai. The chains were impaled against a tree trunk and Chouji watched in amazement as the Uchiha kicked the two enemy ninja in the face. They reeled backwards.

 _They look like a pair of drunk shadows,_ Chouji thought with a tinge of hysteria. _Imagine if shadows could get drunk, Shikamaru would have his hands full…_

The metal chains snapped. Free, the pair charged forward.

"Get back, sir!" Chouji ordered Tazuna, taking up a protective stance alongside Shino. _Is that my voice?_ he thought to himself in amazement. The sound seemed distorted by the overwhelmingly loud beating of his heart. One of the enemy ninja stretched out a clawed hand towards him, the sharp metal glinting with bloody promise in the afternoon light.

Sasuke appeared in between them, kunai out, his signature scowl fitting for the battlefield. Shino shifted beside him, angling towards the second oncoming enemy. Chouji could feel his teammates' will, a palpable thickening of the air, a shield made of wishes and determination.

There was a messy thud as the enemy halted abruptly, choked gurgles of surprise escaping them as Kakashi hooked each of them around the neck.

"Yo," he drawled, single eye hooded with apparent boredom.

"Show-off," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"So, you used substitutions," Shino said, the slight tremble of his hand as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose betraying his cool facade.

"Sorry I didn't help you guys right away," Kakashi said as he expertly tied the two enemies to a large tree. With a short series of hand seals, Shino sent kikaichu bugs to feast on their chakra.

"None of us are hurt, sensei," Chouji said. He wondered if he was reassuring Kakashi or himself.

"Yes, good job, you three," Kakashi said, "Quick thinking, all of you."

Chouji wanted to smile at the rare praise. A strange expression passed over Sasuke's face, one that could have been mistaken for earnest, boyish pride, but it was gone in an instant. His face was blank, impassive and cold as usual, and Chouji wondered if he had seen that flicker of emotion at all.

"By the way, Tazuna-san," Kakashi's voice embodied a strange duality, light and casual but carrying the promise of violence if he did not get what he wanted.

Tazuna seemed to sense the threat and stiffened.

"W-what is it?" he asked, his gruff voice shaking slightly.

"I've got to talk to you about something." Kakashi turned towards him, the movement somehow threatening despite his lax posture and his hands tucked in his pockets.

None of the genin moved, watching the conversation intently.

"These are chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist," Kakashi continued. "These are guys known for continuing to fight, no matter the cost."

"How were you able to detect our movements?" one of the enemies interrupted, his mask distorting his voice into a sinister growl. His eyes were bright with malice, but he was too weak to struggle as Shino's bugs crawled over his skin.

"There wouldn't be puddles of water on a day like today, when it hasn't rained in over a week," Kakashi replied. Chouji realized he was saying this for Team Seven's benefit. Had the visceral, brutal substitution jutsu been their sensei's version of a teaching moment as well?

"Knowing that, why'd you leave it to the kids to fight?" Tazuna asked, having the same line of thought as Chouji.

"Hm…well, I could have killed these guys instantly," he glanced at Tazuna with his blank, gray eye, and the fisherman visibly flinched. "But I had to know who the target of these enemies was…I had to know if it was you, or one of us shinobi, who was being targeted. You haven't mentioned anything to us about being targeted by ninjas. The content of the request was a simple mission, protection from low-level gangs or thieves. This is now a mission of rank B or higher." He watched Tazuna squirm. "The request was supposed to be for backup protection until you finished building your bridge. If we had known enemy ninjas would be involved, the mission rate would have been much more expensive, corresponding to B rank at the least. Being lied to…it won't do. This is beyond the scope of our task."

Tazuna stared at the ground, unable to meet Kakashi's eye. Chouji, Shino, and Sasuke glanced at each other.

"We will turn back," Kakashi decided after a moment. "Tazuna-san, you will be escorted with us back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves…unless of course you wish to proceed on your own."

Tazuna peeked at the tied-up enemies, who glared back at him, the whites of their eyes bulging. He swallowed.

"I-I'll come back with you, for now."

"Very well," Kakashi said. "Well, you heard it all, team, let's wrap up here and go home."

Sasuke frowned.

"These guys weren't so difficult," he said. "Why can't we keep going?"

Kakashi glanced at him and turned to Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san," he said, voice mild, "Why don't you tell us the identity of your assailants, and why they are after you?"

The old man sighed.

"I guess I've got no choice…As you said, this may be beyond the scope of your mission. Actually, I am being targeted by a terrifying man. His name is Gato; you may have heard of him before. He is one of, if not the richest, man in Wave Country. On the surface, he's the CEO of a shipping company, but he has all sorts of under-the-table deals. Human trafficking, drug smuggling, dealing in all sorts of contraband, and he surrounds himself with thugs and ninja. About one year ago, he set his sight on the Land of the Waves. He used his wealth to gain control of the island's sea transportation and shipping, and used violence if that didn't work." His voice steadily rose with passion as he explained. "Having control of the sea, of an island nation like Wave, means that he controls everything; the economy, the people, the government. The only thing he has to be afraid of is my bridge. I want to connect Wave to the mainland, to break his power over our people and our country. I didn't want to get children involved, but I didn't realize…Anyway, I didn't have enough money to pay for any higher-ranked protection, so I thought maybe-"

"You thought wrong," Kakashi interrupted him. "I will not put my team's lives in danger because you do not have the money to pay. We will return to the Leaf village, and work out a deal with the Hokage that will see your problem solved using the appropriate resources. Which do not include my genin team."

* * *

They had just finished explaining the situation to the Hokage, a chastened Tazuna apologizing and agreeing to wait for a proper solution to be found. Chouji had never been happier to come home in his life; he had barely resisted the urge to run ahead when the village gates had first come into view. All he wanted was a steaming basket of pork buns to wash away the day's events.

"Sensei," Shino asked, after they had deposited Tazuna with a pair of chunin, "Was that the only reason you let us think you were dead? To determine Tazuna-san's true motive?"

"Hm?" Kakashi was distracted, his nose buried in a battered neon copy of his favorite book series.

"It doesn't seem necessary to go to such lengths for such an observation that could easily be ascertained-"

"Ah, yes," Kakashi said. "Well, mainly, I didn't want my book to get wet," he said, single eye curving into a smile. "They were Mist shinobi after all, and they did appear out of a large puddle, so you can understand my concern."

* * *

"The hallway isn't your personal weaponry stash, Shikamaru! Get your kunai and dirty socks out of here! If I trip over a funijutsu scroll one more time-" His mother had insisted he search the house for cobwebs, now that he was taller than her and could reach high corners more easily. He managed to back out of that task only to be told to clear his belongings out of the way, and so now he was running late to meet Chouji and Ino for lunch.

"I'll do it later, Mother," he called as he made his escape.

"And how can you leave your clothes on the floor like that! You're just like your father, I swear it was impossible to get bloodstains out of his uniforms because he never did laundry in a timely manner-"

"Bye, Mom!" Shikamaru fled.

He entered the small, homely barbeque shop and spotted Chouji and Ino immediately.

"Sorry I'm late," he greeted them, "My mom was being especially troublesome today."

"'S fine," Chouji shrugged. He fiddled with the edge of a menu but didn't seem interested in ordering any food. Ino was playing with the plastic salt container and didn't say anything. Shikamaru frowned.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

Ino wouldn't even look at him. He felt a growing sense of alarm.

"Not really," Chouji mumbled after a moment. "The mission turned out to be more than we bargained for."

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, it was supposed to be a C-rank mission, because Sasuke complained in front of the Hokage about how we always got these dumb babysitting jobs, and-" Chouji couldn't seem to find the words fast enough as the story came pouring out. "…So these two guys attacked us, real scary shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village, and for a while it looked like they'd killed Kakashi-sensei, and they came after me but Sasuke attacked them and me and Shino defended the old fisherman but guys, I was so scared. I don't know what I would have done if Kakashi-sensei hadn't appeared and taken them out. And I was relieved when we turned back instead of finishing the mission." Chouji's fists clenched.

Silence stretched between the trio.

"I don't think you should worry too much about that," Shikamaru said after a moment. "It was the first time you've seen real combat, and they tried to kill you, so it makes sense that you would be scared. I'd be more afraid if you weren't," he added, the hint of a smile ghosting across his face.

"Sasuke wasn't scared," Chouji pointed out. "He just fought them, like he did that every day, and he was winning, too!"

"Well, you can't expect to have the same reaction to a situation like that. You and Sasuke are really different people," Shikamaru told him. "And…"

"What?"

"That might not have been the first time Sasuke's been around that kind of violence, that kind of killing intent. Who knows what he was exposed to when his clan died."

Chouji and Ino stared at him. The whirring of the ancient ceiling fan was the only noise in the restaurant. Shikamaru swallowed. It felt like a major risk just to mention the Uchiha massacre, even in vague terms. No one ever talked about it, and the families of high-ranking Konoha clan heads were no exception. It was never mentioned, the kind of unsaid rule that no one breaks.

"Yeah," Chouji said after a moment. "I guess you're right." He forced a smile. "I'm going to order another round of pork buns, do you two want anything?"

"I'll have a bowl of noodles," Shikamaru decided. "Ino, what about you?"

Ino stared at the salt shaker and took a deep breath. "Sakura killed someone," she said. "And I almost did."

Shikamaru and Chouji stared at her.

"What?"

"We had a C rank mission, too," Ino said. She sounded just as relieved as Chouji to finally talk about the mission. "We were escorting a family from the village to a town a few miles away and were attacked by a group of shinobi." She was quiet for a moment. "Anko-sensei tortured one of them until he told her why they attacked us. I know…I know she used to be in T & I with my dad…do you think my dad does stuff like that? It was awful, he just kept screaming and screaming. I keep dreaming about it." She balled her hands into fists to stop them from trembling. "What if I'm too weak? What if they expect me to be able to do all of that and I can't do it? I'll be the head of the Yamanaka clan someday, do you think-"

"Ok, hold it right there," Shikamaru said. "You've told us your sensei is some kind of crazy sadist, right? I don't think you should really consider her the norm. And your dad doesn't just torture people 24/7, don't forget how important the Yamanaka clan is for other reasons."

"Yeah," Chouji agreed, "they staff the whole psych division, which is pretty awesome by the way!"

Ino gave a watery smile. "My dad started that program a few years ago," she said.

"Exactly," Shikamaru leaned back and laced his hands behind his head. "No one is expecting you to go extract some prisoner's nails for information, like you're yakuza or something. You don't have to go down that road if you don't want to."

Ino reached for a menu. "Let's eat, shall we?"

Twenty-seven pork buns later, Chouji could tell that Ino still wasn't completely comfortable. She had barely seemed interested in her food, even though the dessert was her favorite flavor of custard pudding.

"Is it still bothering you?" he asked.

Ino sighed and stabbed half-heartedly at her pudding.

"I can't avoid it forever," she said. "I'm going to be the clan head someday and that means paying attention to everything that we're part of, and some of that is pretty nasty T&I stuff…My parents don't talk about it with me but I can just tell there are certain expectations-I can't afford to look weak."

"You don't!" Chouji assured her. "Just because you don't want to torture someone doesn't make you weak!"

"It's not that I want to do it!" Ino said, frustrated, "and it's not like my dad gets all excited to go ransack people's minds or anything but it's a responsibility that the Yamanaka clan has to the village. And it's not even that bad, compared to some of the other things that go on. Come on, guys, you know the facts, we're all in the same boat. This place isn't exactly a democracy. The village is like a living weapon full of little smaller disposable weapons."

"Well, that's bleak," Shikamaru muttered.

"Look, don't you think you might be jumping the gun a little bit here?" Chouji asked. "We're brand new genin. None of us have taken the chunin exams yet. We've got a lot of time and a lot of work before we have any real responsibilities."

Ino pressed her lips together and stared at him. Her face was white with anger.

"Forget it," she slammed her chopsticks on the table and stood up.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm sorry I said anything, Ino-"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, as she left the restaurant. "She left us with her share of the bill."

* * *

"Sakura, your father and I would like to talk to you," her mother knocked on her bedroom door. Sakura lay curled up under a thick, fluffy blanket, exhausted and annoyed. She'd not slept much the night before, plagued by nightmares.

"Not now," she croaked, throat dry and scratchy. Her mother sighed.

"Sakura, we need to talk to you. I'm coming in, okay?"

The lock jiggled as she tried to open the door.

"Sakura! Unlock the door!"

Sakura did not move from her miserable, blanket-ensconced fetal position. Her dream last night had been the worst one yet, in which the enemy ninja, features distorted by death, had stalked her family and injected her parents with the same terrible poison. She could only watch, dream-limbs heavy as lead, as they screamed and coughed, foaming at the mouth and crumpling in on themselves in jerky, painful, unnatural movements. The shinobi's laugh echoed around her, scraping at her ears, as the blue-tinged husks that had once been her parents lay at her feet.

The door flew open, Mebuki Haruno holding one of Sakura's kunai in her hand, which she had used to smash the brittle old lock on the door. She placed the distasteful weapon on Sakura's bookshelf and hurried over to feel Sakura's forehead.

"Are you sick, honey? It doesn't seem like you've got a fever, but I can make some soup-"

Being confronted with her mother's kind words, smelling her sandalwood and poppy perfume, and staring at her bright floral apron, Sakura burst into tears.

Alarmed, Mebuki scooped her daughter into her arms, blanket and all, stroking her hair as Sakura shook with sobs.

"What's going on?" Hizashi appeared in the doorway. He hurried over to his wife and daughter. "Sakura, what is it?"

"N-nothing," Sakura hiccupped, as her father handed her tissues and her mother rubbed her back in a soothing manner. "I'm f-fine."

"Why don't you tell us what's going on," her mother said. "Something is bothering you."

Sakura was quiet for a long moment. She glanced at her parents' worried gazes. _They are so much older than me_ , she thought, _but right now they seem so innocent_. Her stomach clenched as she imagined telling them the truth.

 _I killed someone_ "I fought with Ino," she said. _It was awful watching him die_ "And I feel bad because I was really mean to her," a _nd I can't decide if I really feel bad about killing him or feel bad about being clumsy and slow while doing it_ "and I just want Sasuke-kun to like me!" she sniffed.

"That's it?" Hizashi blurted, his pink eyes raised in disbelief. Mebuki shot him a stern glance.

"Don't worry, Sakura," she said, running her fingers through Sakura's hair. "I'm sure you and Ino will make up, you two won't stop being friends after this. And…Sasuke-kun will come around, I'm sure! You're such a lovely girl and so smart and we love you very much!"

"That's right!" Her father added.

"Why don't I go make you some soup," her mom said. "We can talk about everything later."

Sakura barely managed a nod. Over her mom's shoulder she could see the black trash bag that she'd stuffed her bloody uniform into after the mission, standing out against the orderly pastel walls and furniture. It lurked in the corner and suddenly she couldn't wait to get away.

"Let's all go have a snack together!" She threw off the blanket and grabbed her parents' hands, hurrying towards the kitchen and its promise of security, well-known and well-loved.


	8. Chapter 8

**author's note:** woo! next ch here! rushed to finish this tbh

 ****warning, some swearing in this ch****

the real purpose of an author's note is to shamelessly beg for reviews, faves, & follows...so PLEASE IF U LIKE IT CLICK A BUTTON OR DROP A REVIEW SO I KNOW! its so lovely to know ppl are enjoying the story :)

* * *

Asuma drained his beer. It had been a long week.

"Can I get you another drink?" Anko sidled up to him, draping an arm over his shoulder and kissing him on the cheek. She leaned in and tugged lightly on his earlobe with her teeth. Asuma shoved her away with a shudder.

"You have no personal boundaries whatsoever, do you?" Genma commented, lounging nearby. His bar stool was tipped back, precariously balancing on a single chair leg.

"It's more fun that way," she shrugged. "Plus, I'm bored."

"Go find someone else to be bored with." Kurenai glared at Anko, draping her jacket and scarf on a chair and standing next to Asuma, who put an arm around her waist as he rubbed at his ear with a napkin.

"So territorial," Anko snickered, a grin playing on her face. "You get so uptight when you're drunk, Kurenai. You all need to lighten up and learn to take a joke."

"Forgive me if sexual harassment isn't something I'm open to." Asuma said.

"Oh, come on," she rolled her eyes. "Seduction's a useful skill." She signaled to the bartender for another round. "Once I train my team they'll have your little stupid genin wrapped around their fingers."

"Oh yeah?" Asuma asked, ignoring Kurenai's warning frown, "you wanna bet?"

"You're training your genin in seduction?" Kurenai asked, concerned. "They're only twelve!"

Anko's answering grin was sharp as knives. "The Yamanaka girl's a natural, and pinky won't be half bad either once she grows up a little bit… The Hyuuga girl will be something else once she gets some confidence. Unlike the rest of her clan, she doesn't have a giant stick up her ass. She'll have way more romantic success than the rest of those snooty idiots, I guarantee it."

"Are you saying your team is better than mine?" Asuma asked, finishing yet another beer. Kurenai eyed the growing assortment of empty glasses beside him.

"Maybe you should take it easy," she told him in a low voice.

Asuma shrugged her off. "I'm fine," he said, "It's not that late yet." He pointed at a grinning Anko. "You wanna bet your team can beat mine?"

"What's the wager?" she asked, eyes glowing with the excitement of gambling.

"Whoever loses has to do the other's mission paperwork for a week," he said.

"Including genin paperwork attestations?"

"Yeah, the whole lot," Asuma smirked, fantasizing about Anko struggling to read Shikamaru's awful chicken-scratch. He had expected Naruto to have the worst handwriting and had been unpleasantly surprised to find Shikamaru's lazy penmanship was worse. Neither was very legible.

"You're on!"

The bartender poured glittering liquid that smelled like formaldehyde into several shot glasses and passed them around. Anko toasted Asuma. "No going back now," she grinned.

The bar door creaked open.

"Kakashi!" Anko screeched. "You're just in time for shots!"

The one-eyed ninja took one look at his fellow jonin and the dozens of empty glasses and turned around.

"Aw, have a drink!" Genma grinned, tossing him a bottle. Kakashi caught it reflexively and sighed.

"Don't you wanna get hammered and trash talk genin teams?" Asuma asked. "It's been a long week, and we've all got to unwind somehow."

"No," Kakashi answered honestly.

"You're no fun," Anko sighed. "I don't know what we were expecting. You're always so boring."

"Mm, just because I don't use stupid antics in a blatant attempt to conceal long-buried daddy issues, doesn't mean I'm boring," he replied, eye curving up in a sarcastic smile. Anko scowled and flipped him the bird.

"That's exactly what you do," Genma muttered under his breath, "I don't know who you think you're kidding."

He ducked in the nick of time as Kakashi threw the bottle at his head. It smashed into the back wall, shards of glass flying and alcohol dripping down the cracked plaster. The bartender, resigned to events like this, dragged a ragged broom and dust bin out and began sweeping the debris.

"See!" Anko crowed, pointing at Kakashi, "I knew you had it in you! Come on everyone, time for shots!"

* * *

Leaving the bar three hours later, Kurenai stumbled under Asuma's tall frame, draped over her shoulder.

"Thankss, Kur'nai," he mumbled, breath hot against the side of her neck as they weaved through the dark streets. "You're the best, y'know that? Like, the best ever. And really cool. And also you're so hot, like really fuckin' hot-"

"Okay," Kurenai interrupted him. She was not sober, but also definitely not drunk enough to listen to his rambling all the way back to his apartment.

"Nnoooo, lisssen, I gotta tell you," he said, stopping short and swaying as he tried to stand up by himself. He ended up propping himself up against a wall, far less suave than he imagined. "It'll be great when ya get yr'own team," he said with a goofy, sloppy smile.

Kurenai swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked at him, earnest and boyish despite his constant attempts to be the hard, cold operative he thought was expected of him. A sudden rush of love for him shot through her and she realized she couldn't keep it a secret any longer.

"I-I don't think I'll be getting a genin team anytime soon," she told him, her voice soft. She cursed her voice for shaking. "The Hokage recommended me for a new position and it's not something I can pass up."

"Huh?" The grin slid from Asuma's face. He blinked owlishly at her, her clear distress cutting through his drunken fog.

"I-I've been assigned to ANBU," she whispered, so low that Asuma couldn't hear her, but he could read her lips. Her words were the equivalent of a cold bucket of water to sober him up.

"What?" he strode over to her, grabbing her small shoulders. "What are you talking about?"

"It's classified," she said. "I can't tell you anything else."

"But…but you always wanted to be a teacher," Asuma said, confused. "You always wanted to be a jonin sensei. And unlike Anko, you're not going to permanently traumatize any unlucky group of children that happens to come your way!"

The corner of Kurenai's mouth twitched. She gave a small shrug.

"I accepted the position," she confessed. "I couldn't say no."

"Bullshit!" Asuma stepped back, fists clenched. "Of course you can say no!"

"No, I can't!" she snapped. "Look, the Hokage is your father, not mine, and he's our boss, and I don't have the privilege of leaving the village to go work somewhere else, like you did!"

"I didn't mean-"

"I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd react this way. You're not making it any easier, Asuma. Yeah, I wanted to be a teacher, but we don't all get what we want. Anyway, this is a good career move for me."

"It's too dangerous!" he blurted. Kurenai could barely believe he'd just said that. He appeared to be regretting his words already, but she could not let that go.

"Excuse me?"

Asuma sighed and rubbed at his face.

"That's not what I meant. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, you know I don't think you can't handle it," he said, "Look, can we maybe talk about this tomorrow?"

Kurenai took a deep breath. "Fine," she said.

They stared at each other, faces scarcely discernible under the thin light of the crescent moon. A light breeze blew through the empty street, hushed underneath the thick blanket of darkness.

* * *

Asuma watched as Shikamaru directed Kiba and Naruto in a new combat maneuver the Nara boy had designed. He was proud of his team. They were growing stronger every day. While genin teams didn't last forever, they showed a solid bond that would hopefully lay a foundation for their careers to come. He watched as Kiba, the fastest and most physically fit of the three, caused a small earthquake to ripple through the training ground, tripping some of Asuma's shadow clone "enemies". A wind, courtesy of Naruto, blew rocks, tree debris and dust into the air, weaponizing the earthquake wreckage. Asuma had to throw up a quick wind shield as Shikamaru flicked a spark from his finger, igniting the whirling tree bits in a flaming tornado. The rest of the shadow clones were incinerated.

"Nice job," Asuma congratulated them, producing a small water jutsu to dampen any stubborn flames.

"Yeah, we were pretty awesome," Kiba grinned. Akamaru wagged his tail in agreement.

"Why don't you explain why it was successful?"

"Uh," Naruto scratched the back of his head, looking uncertain, "I think it worked because my wind jutsu kept Shikamaru's fire going! Since, y'know, wind keeps fire from dying and makes it even stronger, so our combined attack was pretty sweet."

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Minimal effort, maximum result."

Asuma smiled, shaking his head in amused exasperation. Trust a Nara to explain things as succinctly as possible, while sounding half-asleep.

"It's a good idea. Why don't we practice for another hour and then you guys are free to head out."

"Yes, sensei!"

* * *

The minute practice was over, Naruto and Kiba ran off, Akamaru nipping at their heels and Shikamaru strolling behind them at a more sedate pace.

"Why are you so mopey, Shikamaru? Like more than usual, my dude, I feel depressed just looking at you," Kiba said.

"Do you want to come get ramen with us?" Naruto asked. "And then go play with all the Inuzuka puppies? That always makes me feel better!"

Kiba elbowed him in the stomach.

"You can't keep lending out our puppies to everyone!" he hissed.

"No, I'm fine, really it's fine," Shikamaru said.

"Look, something's got you down," Naruto crossed his arms and turned to face him. "What is it?"

Shikamaru sighed. "It's Ino," he admitted. "She's been in a pretty bad mood lately and when Chouji and I hung out with her I don't think we helped…I mean, I think we kind of made things worse." He shrugged. "I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Hm," Naruto laced his fingers behind his head, "Have you said you're sorry?"

"…Oh…"

Kiba and Akamaru raised their eyebrows expectantly, totally in sync. Shikamaru would have found it comical if he didn't feel so terrible.

"Uh, no….no we didn't say anything."

"Well that's your first step then!" Naruto pointed at him, "You've gotta tell her how sorry you are, and maybe buy her a present for good measure."

"Since when did you get so good at giving advice?" Kiba grinned, eyes blazing with anticipation of trouble, "you didn't even have any friends in the academy."

"Oh, shut up, dog-breath," Naruto glared at him and it was Kiba's turn to look offended.

"Who are you calling dog-breath? Orange idiot dead-last-"

"Hey!" The two of them were soon rolling around in the middle of the road, throwing punches and trying to knee each other in the stomach with little success. Shikamaru ignored them, too used to the dynamic and too lazy to step in regardless, and turned his attention to the nearby training ground. He peered closer, some subtle instinct vaguely warning him that not all was as it seemed. He carefully stretched his shadow forward, ignoring Kiba and Naruto scuffling in the dirt.

"Kai!"

The genjutsu broke, revealing two members of Team 7 staring at him, bewildered.

"Shikamaru?" Chouji asked. "When did you get here?"

"Never mind that," Sasuke snapped, "we need to find Shino!"

"What-" Chouji's eyes glazed over.

Sasuke swore. He whirled around, scanning the nearby trees, and slapped Chouji hard across the face.

"Snap out of it!"

Chouji did not even flinch as Sasuke slapped him again, swearing with increasing intensity. Shikamaru took a hesitant step back. He should never have gotten involved in the first place-

"Oh, no, you don't," a woman's voice sang in his ear, sending a shiver up his spine, and the training ground flipped upside down.

"What-" disoriented, his head spun as the trees seemed to fold and collapse on themselves, the clouds in the sky swirling in an ominous pattern. His stomach heaved and his hands shook as he brought them together in a hand seal.

"Kai!" he panted, thoroughly regretting his earlier curiosity. The training ground returned to normal as he broke the genjutsu, Chouji nowhere to be seen. Sasuke was hunched over next to him, hands on his knees, gasping.

"She won't let you go," he said, glancing up at Shikamaru, "You noticed the genjutsu, so she's interested in you now."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru asked. "Of all the troublesome things!"

"Help me find Shino and Chouji," Sasuke ordered, straightening up and grabbing a handful of shuriken. His eyes narrowed in determination. "I am _not_ letting her win."

"I don't-"

"Look, I already told you she won't let you go," Sasuke cut him off, "and it's just a bunch of stupid illusions, anyway." His knuckles were white as he gripped the shuriken, but his voice was steady. "She hasn't used any taijutsu or ninjutsu so far."

"It doesn't seem like she has to," Chouji grumbled, crawling towards them from the tree-line, sporting a black eye and various cuts and bruises.

Sasuke frowned.

"Wait a minute," Shikamaru said, mildly alarmed, "isn't your sensei a man? What do you mean, 'she'?"

"She's filling in for Kakashi-sensei," Chouji said, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Is he sick or something?"

Sasuke snorted. "Are you kidding me? He's probably off reading shitty porn and napping and told this crazy woman to come babysit us instead."

"Really?" Shikamaru was surprised. He couldn't picture Asuma-sensei being so irresponsible, although jonin were known for their eccentricity, which his father loved to complain about during dinner.

"Yeah, well, we can gossip later," Sasuke said, "Right now we've got to find Shino."

"He might have fallen for the same trick I did," Chouji suggested, "where everything seemed upside down so I ran towards what I thought were you guys, but then it turned out to be trees, and I thought I had seen through the genjutsu but then the trees captured me and I the only way I realized it was another illusion was because I struggled so hard I accidentally punched myself in the face and it broke the illusion."

Sasuke and Shikamaru stared at him.

"Well, that's one way to do it, I guess," Shikamaru said. "So she's using layered illusions, and she can use a wide variety of different genjutsu…it seemed like she had one over the whole training field earlier."

"Good observation!" A feminine voice trilled, and the three genin whirled around, frantically searching for the source.

Sasuke froze as he found himself staring into a pair of eerie red eyes, brilliant like drops of fresh blood. If not for the lack of spinning black wheels, he might have mistaken them for Ita-that man's. He swallowed hard.

"Here's a little treat, Sasuke-kun!"

And the red eyes vanished, replaced by Shino, lying broken on the ground. The vision was so completely wrong, Sasuke felt like he was going to throw up. Shino's glasses askew and smashed, his eyes pleading with Sasuke to save him-somehow still alive despite the grotesque positioning of his twisted limbs, covered in blood. Sasuke took a single step towards him and watched the life leave Shino's broken body.

Sasuke's vision went white for a moment and he felt an overpowering surge of anger, almost paralyzing in its intensity. His eyes felt hot.

"Did you really think this would work against me? ME?" he snarled, as the vision seemed to shimmer, revealing a thin, delicate web of chakra holding the illusion in place. He followed the source of the chakra to the woman standing nearby. Her eyes widened as he sprinted towards her, throwing a barrage of kunai and shuriken.

She dodged them all and pulled a substitution with a nearby log, but Sasuke never lost track of her and it was too easy to predict where she would end up next and he changed course, launching a brutal kick aimed at her head. She blocked it and he was close enough to stare at her red eyes, so much like his brother's but so different-as her other arm came up to block his punch. She still wore that infuriating expression of surprise.

"I'll kill you," he promised her, twisting out of her grip and making the hand signs for the Uchiha signature fireball technique. The fire that appeared was blue, and he felt a distant sense of pride and pleasure in making a flame that hot, but it was drowned out by his determination to make her pay for that stupid illusion. Her eyes, her genjutsu, her mind games, they were nothing but a pale imitation of what that man had done to him. _I won't be mocked or insulted like this any longer._ Sasuke was the last Uchiha, and he was _not_ weak.

She ducked under the fireball, throwing herself forward and sprinting towards Sasuke with the full speed of a jonin. He barely had time to notice what was happening when he found himself pinned on his stomach, unable to move his arms or legs, with her weight perched upon his back.

"Hm, well...that's enough for today," she said.

Chouji and Shikamaru blinked as a final illusion disappeared. A moment later, a disoriented Shino wandered out of the nearby trees.

"Where were you?" Chouji shouted, running towards him.

Shino cleared his throat, embarrassed.

"Well, I wasn't affected by the first illusion that made you guys walk around in circles," he explained, "because my kikaichu colony is like an innate compass since they're attuned to the magnetic field of the earth."

"Weird," Chouji breathed, fascinated yet repulsed (as usual) by the thought of the myriad of bugs living in Shino's body.

"I broke the illusion but then I still couldn't find you guys," Shino said, "and then I found myself trapped by a tree and I couldn't escape, but that disappeared too. Why? It must have been an illusion."

"She almost caught me with that one too," Chouji confided. He turned towards their substitute sensei, who seemed far less threatening now that she wasn't messing with them anymore.

"Well, that was an interesting exercise, not bad, Team Seven!" she said, smiling kindly as she held a struggling Sasuke down.

"Um," Shikamaru began.

"It's Kurenai-sensei," Chouji whispered to him.

"Uh, Kurenai-sensei…can I go now?"

"Wait a minute," she said, peering at him. "Aren't you the Nara boy? One of Asuma's students?"

"…Yes…" Shikamaru was not sure where this was going. Troublesome troublesome troublesome-

She looked at him for a long moment, but he had no idea what she might be thinking.

"Very well," she said, "go ahead."

Shikamaru bowed and was gone in a flash, grabbing the still-oblivious Naruto and Kiba by the collar and dragging them with him in his hurry to leave.

Kurenai watched them go, both Naruto and Kiba shouting at Shikamaru, Akamaru bounding around them and barking. Her attention was diverted as Sasuke let out a significant amount of killing intent, struggling with renewed determination.

"Let me go," he growled, "I'll kill you!"

"Sasuke, what happened to your eyes?" Shino asked, ignoring his teammate's murderous aura.

"What?" Sasuke looked confused, ceasing his attempts to free himself. "What are you talking about?"

"Hey, you're right," Chouji said, coming closer. "They're all…red…with these spinny black thingies."

"It can't be," Sasuke whispered, seemingly to himself. "…The Sharingan."


	9. Chapter 9

SORRY THIS IS A WEEK LATE real life caught up to me and i've been super busy lately. i'm not sure if i'll be 100% able to stick to my bi-weekly upload schedule but i'll do my best. next ch is where things really start to get wild, i realize it took like almost 10 ch to build up but i am really enjoying writing this thing so i'm taking my time lol, i hope you guys are enjoying reading it (please drop a review, click favorite or follow! shameless begging from the author!)

* * *

Mebuki Haruno stared in dismay at her only child. She brushed Sakura's pink locks away from her face as the girl dozed, keeping them from coming in contact with her bowl of porridge. She sighed. Her neighbor Akiko's voice echoed in her memory:

"My daughter Mayu is apprencticing at Heavenly Confections bakery. I'm sure you've heard of it, on the corner of Forest and Palace, what a lovely part of town and they are the most highly-rated..." Her nasal tone gave Mebuki a headache. "What is your daughter up to these days, Mebuki-san?"

She rubbed her temples, blocking her neighbor's mocking smile from her mind, and looked down at Sakura. She slid the food out of the way as her daughter slumped forward, resting her head and arms on the table, still asleep. Her face was pale and innocent, her eyes closed. Mebuki's stomach wrenched as she realized her daughter had not looked so young for months. Her green eyes somehow emitted a world-weary wisdom far beyond her years, like she knew things that Mebuki could never dream of.

And dream Sakura did. Mebuki knew her daughter was having trouble sleeping, shown by her exhaustion at breakfast, but that was the only sign. Sakura still trained with her team and cleaned her room and ate her dinner. There was no sound in the night to signify that she'd woken up. When she was a tiny newborn, Sakura used to make strange, loud noises in her sleep, but now she made no noise at all. She snuck around the house like a ghost, footsteps so light Mebuki was never sure where she was. Piles of clothing would arise, dirty one moment and clean the next; it was disturbing how fast and how completely the bloodstains seemed to disappear.

"And Mayu is one of the youngest workers there, she knows what she wants and is working hard to succeed. It's so rare to see such drive in someone her age, she is so smart yet so humble-"

Mebuki suppressed a snort as she thought about Sakura training at all hours, waking up at the crack of dawn and sinking into an ice bath at the end of the day. She wanted to tell Akiko about Sakura's dedication, how she read book after book of ninja theory and techniques, some of them written in strange, obscure codes that Mebuki couldn't make heads or tails of. She wanted to brag about Sakura's hard work, but something held her back: the creeping realization that she wasn't sure what she would be bragging about, exactly. Whenever she or Hizashi asked their daughter about anything related to shinobi life, Sakura would dance around the subject, and they were left with very few facts about how exactly their daughter spent her time. Mebuki's anxious imagination crafted all sorts of horrific ordeals, bloody and violent trauma that Sakura dealt with on a daily basis, and her thoughts scared her so much that she did not tell anyone about them, even Hizashi. She definitely did not mention anything to Sakura. Their house was a strange, distorted version of its former cozy atmosphere, each of its inhabitants treading on eggshells, too afraid of the truth to confront the shadowy conjectures, the half-truths, and the white lies. And while her daughter slept as if the hard wood of the table was the softest pillow, Mebuki realized that as much as she imagined the hardships Sakura had survived, she was petrified that the reality would be somehow worse.

* * *

"You must face the reality of being a shinobi," Hiashi said, "and not only a shinobi, but the future head of the Hyuuga, the foremost clan of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. We carry a long, illustrious legacy that will not be tarnished under any circumstances. You will do as you are told, and you will bring honor and uphold your clan name."

The "or else" was silent, but Hinata got the message loud and clear as her father stared at her, his back straight, his poker face stiff and unreadable as he stared at her with familiar pale, murky eyes.

The sun filtered through the windows of the traditional dojo, casting patterns on the shining hardwood floor. Hinata sat opposite her father, positioned in front of her younger sister Hanabi on her left and her cousin Neji on her right, their positions mirrored by the senior elders that flanked her father. She could feel Hanabi vibrating with almost imperceptible impatience, contrasting Neji, stubborn and silent. She resisted the urge to move, a sign of discomfort they were all expecting from her, the weak-willed disappointment to the clan. She couldn't say a single sentence without stuttering and blushing, had never shown an inclination for politics, and couldn't hit tenketsu points as fast as her sister or her cousin, both hailed as prodigies of the Gentle Fist taijutsu style.

"Yes, Father," her voice seemed too loud, but she squashed the urge to duck her head, or twist her fingers together. She, too, sat straight and tall, with all the grace and poise bestowed by her upbringing.

The spiteful elders seemed surprised that she had not broken yet. Anko's inappropriate, offensive, violent tirades came to mind and Hinata was inspired by her sensei's big mouth as she asked,

"Why do you feel this is necessary to tell me now? Surely, as your daughter and as a graduate of the Academy, I am well aware of what my clan and my village require of me."

Shocked silence filled the room. She had never questioned her father before. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and fought the urge to run away.

Hiashi's pale gaze was cold and thoughtful as he assessed her.

"Yes," he spoke after a moment, and it was his turn to surprise everyone. "The chuunin exams are coming up, and they will be held in Konoha this year. I expect you to be prepared to take part when the time comes."

One of the elders, ignoring decorum in his shock, exclaimed,

"You can't be seriously expecting the girl to participate! She has barely been out of the Academy and one of her teammates is a civilian, for crying out loud! We should defer until she has a better chance, better teammates, more experience!"

Hiashi glanced at him with such annoyance that the elder froze in his spot and bowed in apology.

"Her teammates are not our concern," Hiashi said flatly. His eyes flickered to Neji and the boy stiffened at the implications in the clan leader's merciless gaze. "Neji will be attending the Chuunin exams as well. As a shinobi with exceptional potential, I expect him to uphold the duties of the branch family and protect his future leader as necessary."

The elders sighed with relief. Neji held his tongue, but Hinata could feel the anger flowing off of him, not quite coalescing into killing intent given the restraining presense of the elders and the clan leader. Before she could speak up on his and her own behalf, her father continued.

"Of course, the clan heiress' responsibilities must also be upheld. While Hinata is busy with the exams, Hanabi will oversee her sister's duties as well as her own."

Her stomach twisted as she considered the underlying meaning of her father's words. He was insinuating that Hanabi would one day compete with Hinata for the title of heiress. Such competition was unusual in their straight-laced clan, only encouraged when the heir was too weak to lead. He was effectively solidifying the pecking order among the younger generation by forcing Neji, with all his talent and his pride, to play nursemaid to the cousin whom he hated, and who was being shoved to the side in favor of her younger sister. Hinata managed to avoid sneaking a look at Hanabi.

"Understood, Father," she responded. "I will personally make sure that Hanabi understands and is able to carry out my responsibilities. I am sure Neji will perform admirably during the exams, just as I will do my best."

She kept her back straight and maintained eye contact with her father. Cold sweat ran down the back of her neck. "And now, if you would please excuse me, I have a team obligation that I must fulfill."

"Dismissed," Hiashi said, impassive as always. "All of you may go." Hinata bowed, Neji and Hanabi following her example. The three of them escaped the oppressive atmosphere with as much dignity as they could muster; which was a lot, considering they were members of the Hyuuga clan.

* * *

"You're late!" Anko screeched as Hinata met the rest of her team under the wide pine tree that marked the entrance to training ground 14. Her sensei's brash personality was refreshing after the tense clan meeting.

Ino rolled her eyes. "She's three minutes early, sensei."

"Well, she's the last one here, so that counts as late!" Anko snapped. "Anyway, I have important info to tell you three so listen up, brats!"

The three genin dutifully looked at her, used to her attention-grabbing antics.

"I've signed you up for the chunin exams!" She screeched. Ino and Hinata stared at her, unimpressed. Sakura's gaze had drifted to the trees and she didn't even look as if she was paying attention. "What kind of response is that?" Anko slapped the closest genin, who happened to be Ino, upside the head. "Where's the surprise? Where's the excitement? Where're the naïve questions about how the exam works? You three were good at school, right? So aren't you supposed to like exams, then?" She rubbed the back of her head.

"I already knew about the exam," Ino said, taking pity on her.

"Me too," Hinata added. "As clan heir, my father wanted to ensure that I'd be prepared." Ino nodded in agreement.

"What kind of twelve year old uses 'ensure' in a sentence?" Anko muttered, squinting at them. She sighed. "Well, whatever, I don't know what I was expecting from over-achieving clan babies. But why aren't you excited, pinky? Why the long face?"

"Sakura!" Ino yelled, when it was clear she wasn't paying attention.

Sakura flinched and looked at her teammates with wide eyes. "What?"

"The exam coming up!" Anko was reaching the end of her (admittedly short) fuse. "What do you think?"

"Oh, that," Sakura said faintly. She shrugged. "I don't know. I think I should probably be afraid, but lately I don't really feel anything."

ino and Hinata glanced at each other, frowning.

Somehow, Anko didn't find that statement concerning.

"Fine, be boring, I guess you all think you're too cool to get excited about this, right?" She attempted a gentle smile, which looked as though she was in severe pain. Ino raised an eyebrow. Hinata sighed. Sakura was spacing out again.

"Well, you're WRONG!" Anko roared. "This is super important! And you should be stressed but also pysched to blow some shit up and kick ass! Wipe the floor with those motherfucking kids from Kiri and Iwa! And Suna, while you're at it!"

"Aren't you forgetting Kumo?" Ino asked sarcastically. She earned a tiny stink-bomb for her troubles.

"Of course not!" Anko called as she perched in a nearby tree, out of range of the smell. Hinata and Sakura's eyes watered and they retreated, leaving Ino shrieking in frustration and smelling like a skunk. "I was about to tell you to pound the shit out of the little bastards!"

"What kind of training will we do to prepare for the exam, sensei?" Sakura asked, sounding slightly more like her normal self as she watched Ino hose herself down with a tiny water jutsu and deploy a custom stink bomb of her own creation, filled with perfume that smelled like oranges and sandalwood.

"I thought you'd never ask," Anko said, her grin widening. All three genin froze. That shark-like grin was never a good sign. "I want to try a different exercise with you today. We've done a lot of combat-focused and tracking-focused practice but we've got to work on information gathering if you three want to survive the exam."

Her choice of words did not go unnoticed by her three students. Sakura and Ino swallowed their questions and Hinata's hand fiddled with her hair in an old nervous gesture.

"In this exercise, you will have two hours to complete a simple task. You must get one of the members of Team 10 to do something for you. And no," she pointed at Ino, who had the grace to look surprised, "you do not get to choose who you will be manipulating." She jumped down from the tree and strolled over to them.

"Manipulation is a fine art. You have to know your opponent, their strengths and weaknesses and secrets. But you also have to know yourself, what you are capable of and how others perceive you." Anko was pleased with her speech. It sounded wise despite being complete BS; kind of like something Hokage-sama would say when he was playing politics and didn't want to. "Take these factors into account when you think of a plan," she instructed, "I expect results."

The three girls nodded, Ino more than the other two.

"Ino, your target will be Kiba. Sakura, your target will be Shikamaru. Hinata, your target will be Naruto. Let's have some fun, shall we?" She threw them a casual salute and disappeared in the usual swirl of wind and leaves. Hinata's mouth felt dry and she wished she had not been so bold when speaking to her father. Ino and Sakura did not look thrilled, either.

* * *

"Chunin exams!?" Naruto shrieked, vibrating with excitement. Kiba grinned and hi-fived Akamaru and proceeded to tackle Naruto in a celebratory impromptu wrestling match. Shikamaru frowned slightly.

"Troublesome," he muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked from his position on the ground, one leg looped around Naruto's shoulder, both fists attempting to grab his teammate's flailing limbs.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, spitting through a mouthful of fur as Akamaru decided to join in, his tail wagging furiously in Naruto's face.

"Tch," Shikamaru glanced at them from the corner of his eye. "We graduated from the academy quite recently in comparison to most of the other teams who will be competing. It is rare for a genin team to enter the chunin exams without at least a year's worth of experience. The exams are dangerous. It's going to be troublesome trying to get through them without dying, with our current skill levels."

"W-without dying?" Naruto looked rather green, abandoning his fight with Kiba and Akamaru.

"Why'd Asuma-sensei volunteer us if it's gonna be a death-trap?" Kiba asked, sitting up and crossing his arms.

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Who knows," he said.

"Come on, you have to do better than that," Naruto insisted. "You can't spring all that danger and dying stuff on us and expect us not to want answers."

"Fine," Shikamaru sighed. "It's probably because of who our team is. Besides Naruto, we're two prominent clan children. Our year at the academy was full of them, actually, so I wouldn't be surprised if other teams are also entering."

"You mean Sakura might be taking the exam too?" Naruto had regained some of his earlier excitement. "And Hinata?"

Shikamaru shrugged one shoulder.

"Alright! I can show them all my cool new moves!" He grinned. "We'll pass with flying colors, I know it!"

Kiba whacked him on the shoulder.

"Did you forget about the 'risk of death' aspect already?" He snapped. "Stop getting distracted by stupid girls and pay attention since Shikamaru is actually bothering to explain something for once."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Carry on."

"So, anyway, there's a fair amount of political pressure for our team to enter, which could only be added to by the fact that it's Sarutobi Asuma who's our sensei. The son of the Hokage-"

"The Hokage has a son?" Naruto interrupted. "Weird! I never thought about that! Who'd want to marry him, though? Also wouldn't his son be, like, super old, since the Hokage's ancient-"

"Will you stop interrupting!" Kiba hissed, winding up to hit him again.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry, gosh."

"In peacetime, the chunin exams are the way the major villages show off their power and try to one-up each other. They can't use real warfare so instead they send a bunch of children into a loosely-formatted exam setting to fight each other."

"That…doesn't sound very efficient," Naruto remarked.

"Welcome to politics," Shikamaru snorted. "So the village wants to show off its graduated clan children as soon as possible, which is why we're entering, but all the other villages will have the same idea and the genin they send might be older, more experienced, more bloodthirsty…"

"Well, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Naruto said. "There's not much we can do now besides train, anyway. We don't know anything about the exam or who we'll be up against so we might as well look forward to it!"

"You might have a point," Kiba mused, bolstered by his orange teammate's optimism, "How bad could they possibly be?"

"We'll dominate," Naruto pumped a fist in the air, "the others won't know what hit them!"


	10. Chapter 10

**author's note:** OK first off, I AM SO SORRY THIS UPDATE IS SUPER LATE

not to make too many excuses and bore you with my personal life, but in addition to real life running me into the ground, i've had a severe case of writer's block. so apologies about the delay, and also the fact that this chapter is short and like 90% dialogue

on another note, thank you so much to everyone who has read the story! i'm so excited you guys are liking it! :D

i will really really try to get the next chapter published as soon as possible, pls hang in there and i'll try to update ASAP

* * *

PREVIOUSLY:

 _"In peacetime, the chunin exams are the way the major villages show off their power and try to one-up each other. They can't use real warfare so instead they send a bunch of children into a loosely-formatted exam setting to fight each other."_

 _"That…doesn't sound very efficient," Naruto remarked._

 _"Welcome to politics," Shikamaru snorted. "So the village wants to show off its graduated clan children as soon as possible, which is why we're entering, but all the other villages will have the same idea and the genin they send might be older, more experienced, more bloodthirsty…"_

 _"Well, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Naruto said. "There's not much we can do now besides train, anyway. We don't know anything about the exam or who we'll be up against so we might as well look forward to it!"_

 _"You might have a point," Kiba mused, bolstered by his orange teammate's optimism, "How bad could they possibly be?"_

 _"We'll dominate," Naruto pumped a fist in the air, "the others won't know what hit them!"_

* * *

"Hey, do you feel that?" Naruto's carefree attitude was wiped away in an instant.

"Feel what?" Kiba asked.

"That feeling…I don't know, but it's super creepy, man."

Akamaru gave a low whine and nudged against Kiba's legs.

"Now that you mention it, something does seem off." It was a strange sort of insidious feeling, subtle enough that if not for his Inuzuka senses, Kiba might have missed it. Unsettled, he whistled to Akamaru to stay close.

Naruto sighed.

"Never mind."

"Huh?"

"It's just Konohamaru and his friends hiding behind that fence." Naruto pointed at an ill-matching piece of wood with the tops of three small heads poking just above it and shoes just below, their fingers curling around the sides of the plank.

"I guess," the threatening feeling didn't seem to match three bumbling academy kids, but Kiba held his tongue as he watched Konohamaru and company charge from their hiding place, abandoning any attempt at subtlety.

"You said you'd play ninja with us today!" the little boy accused Naruto, pointing a chubby finger at him.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at his teammate, who laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, not sure I have time today, guys. We have to train for the upcoming chunin exam."

"But you promised!" they wailed.

"Yeah, Naruto, you should go play ninja with them," Kiba snickered, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

"Oh, shut up," Naruto frowned at his teammate. He turned back to Konohomaru, a patronizing grin plastering his face. "I'm busy today, Konohamaru, my team has to start training for the big exam soon."

Konohamaru pouted. Shikamaru and Kiba watched as the younger boy argued with Naruto for several minutes before apparently giving up, kicking the Uzumaki boy in the shin, and speeding off with his friends in tow.

"Well, I guess we should get going," Naruto said, turning back to his teammates, wincing and rubbing at his injured leg.

"We just finished training," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, no thanks, dude," Kiba said. "It's been a long day already. I need a shower."

"Oh, come on! You always smell like wet dog, Kiba, like you really care about hygiene now! You guys are so lame!"

"I'm the one with bad hygiene!? Have you even seen your own apartment, idiot? It's so full of trash I'm surprised the neighbors don't wear gas masks to protect themselves from the toxic fumes of your dirty laundry."

"You wanna go!?"

"You ready to get your ass kicked!?"

"Bite me, dog boy!"

"Orange freak!"

The impending ruckus was cut short as a shrill scream echoed from down the street.

"What was that?" Kiba asked, trying to locate where it had come from. Akamaru's ears perked.

"I don't know, but it didn't sound good." Shikamaru muttered.

"It sounded like Konohamaru," Naruto said, tense, his sky blue eyes cloudy with worry. "And that creepy feeling from before is back, too." The three of them looked at each other and broke into a run towards the source of the noise.

"Well, it was Konohamaru after all," Kiba remarked, joking tone unable to hide his concern as they skidded to a stop in front of a menacing-looking pair of shinobi. One of them, a larger boy who seemed to be a few years older than them, was holding Konohamaru by the ankle and laughing as he shook him roughly.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Let Konohamaru go!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"This little brat ran right into me," the boy grinned, purple tattoos on his face stretching into a gruesome mask. He chuckled as Konohamaru struggled. "Better watch where you're going, brat. Maybe I'd better teach you a lesson."

"Stop it," his companion snapped at him, a severe-looking blond girl. "You'll get yelled at later." The two wore unfamiliar headbands, with a sort of blocky shape and line carved into them. Both were fully armed and sensibly dressed in shinobi gear. The girl had bushy, spiky blonde hair and wore a loose purple outfit with white armor. Kiba privately thought that the boy's tattoos looked stupid, and that he had worse fashion sense than Naruto's penchant for orange; his hat made him look like a cat.

"Who are these guys, anyway?" Kiba muttered to his teammates. "I don't recognize them."

"They're foreign ninja," Shikamaru replied as he assessed the two strangers. "Members of the Village Hidden in the Sand."

"Who cares who they are? I'll beat them up if they don't let Konohamaru go!" Naruto snarled, striding forward. Shikamaru reached out and grabbed his arm in warning.

"Yah, where is the fabled Leaf hospitality? You guys are supposed to be the nicest village, right?" The foreign boy mocked them.

"Shut up," Naruto broke free of Shikamaru's hold and charged. Suddenly, he found himself flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him.

"What-" Kiba stared, startled.

"Puppets," Shikamaru said grimly. "Naruto, get back. They must be here for the chunin exams. We can't get into a-"

"What a group of spineless losers," the boy drawled. "I'm bored." He glanced at the squirming Konohamaru and at the children sniffling in the background. "Looks like it'll take a bit of effort to keep things interesting. I guess…I'll just have to break him."

Konohamaru blanched and he began struggling even harder to free himself, limbs windmilling in a futile attempt as the foreign boy pulled back his fist, a bloodthirsty glint in his eye. Kiba could only watch in horror as-

"What the hell?!" The boy exclaimed, dropping Konohamaru.

"What was that for?" his companion asked the question on everyone's mind.

"I-I- I dunno!" No longer in control, the menacing aura surrounding the boy had completely evaporated. "It was like I couldn't even control myself! What the hell is going on?"

"What?" she flashed an alarmed glance at the group of Konoha genin.

"I can't move!" he said, the purple marks accentuating the terror visible on his face.

The blond girl narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth. "Looks like I'll have to take care of this, then." She unbuckled the large fan strapped to her back. "Whichever one of you did this, let my brother go now!"

"Why should we do that?" Kiba snarled back, Akamaru growling alongside him. "You're the ones who waltzed in here and threatened members of our village."

"Yeah, stuff it, ugly," Naruto chimed in, getting up from the dirt and moving in front of Konohamaru and his friends, shielding them.

"Get lost." Shikamaru's voice was low. The hair on the back of Kiba's neck stood up, and he glanced at his friend, startled by the threatening tone. The Nara boy looked as bored as ever, but there was a subtle hint of granite underneath his slumped posture. He was making a subtle hand sign, and Kiba recognized the shadow possession jutsu. He realized it must have ensnared the foreign boy, and sure enough, Shikamaru was standing on the shadow cast by the leafy canopy of a nearby tree, which extended to where the Sand shinobi stood. "You're here for the chunin exams." Shikamaru continued. "You don't want to be disqualified and forced to leave based on a little incident like this. So go away."

The girl's green eyes narrowed. She held the large fan in front of her, assuming a low, wide stance.

"Temari, stop that."

Everyone's head snapped up to a nearby tree, where hanging upside down from the branches was the creepiest kid Kiba had ever seen. The unsettling feeling from before came back with a vengeance, rolling off the newcomer in thick, ominous waves. His hair was the color of blood, and Kiba knew immediately this boy was in a different league.

"You two are an embarrassment to the village," he droned, his voice flat, almost sleepy. "Especially you, Kankuro."

The Sand girl was frozen, clutching her fan with a white-knuckled grip.

"G-Gaara," the purple-faced boy, Kankuro, stuttered. "T-this isn't-"

"Why do you think we came here to this village?" The newcomer interrupted him, staring with blank blue eyes. Kiba thought he was one of-if not the-creepiest person he had ever seen. Certainly in the top three.

"They started it!" Kankuro squeaked. He looked harmless when compared with the dark, suffocating presence of the other boy. Sweat streaked down his face, running over his tattoos.

"Shut up," the boy responded, an almost inhuman aura emanating from him. Akamaru whined. Kiba twined his fingers in Akamaru's fur. The boy's hideously blank eyes narrowed. "I'll kill you."

Kankuro was shaking like a leaf, apologies pouring from his mouth. His sister, Temari, had strapped her fan away, and she too was apologizing profusely.

The boy glanced at the group of Leaf students and Kiba felt a shiver down his spine. "I'm sorry about that," he said, but there was no hint of contrition in his voice.

Akamaru barked in surprise as the boy dissolved into sand, only to appear in between the two terrified foreigners. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play games."

The other two kept a healthy distance between themselves and the boy made of sand, and all three were soon out of sight.

"What was that?" Naruto looked thoroughly freaked out. "He just, like, turned into dirt! And that feeling-it was the same as from earlier, only stronger! It felt…it felt like he was going to really kill someone!"

Hearing this, Konohamaru and his posse burst into tears. Kiba nudged Akamaru forward, who trotted over to comfort them, licking Konohamaru all over his face.

"Ew, gross!" The boy complained, delighted, fear banished already. His friends calmed down too as they began to pet Akamaru, who was soaking up the attention and shot Kiba a look as if to say, _Why don't we do this more often?_

Kiba ignored his dog and turned to his teammates. "Where are the jonin when you need them?" he tried to joke.

Shikamaru frowned.

"If this is what we're up against in the exams," he said, "it's going to be so troublesome."

* * *

"You should make a better show of it," Shikamaru said. "They're watching us from that soup stand over there."

"I know," Sakura replied. She shrugged. "I don't care. This is stupid. Look, can you get me what I want, or not?"

"What do I get for it?"

"What do you want?"

Asuma and Kurenai glanced at each other from their "casual" lunch at a restaurant across the street.

"Is this some kind of joke to them?" Asuma muttered.

"Does it matter?" said Anko, slurping her soup noisily. "Sakura's winning, so who cares?"

He abandoned his surveillance of the genin and glared at her, crossing his arms. "Of course it matters! They both just threw in the towel! Your student didn't even try!"

"So? She still completed the mission. And for the record, yours didn't try either."

"Come on, there's no way this can count towards the official tally!"

"It has to-we need a tiebreaker! It's 1-1 right now, and they're within the rules."

"There are no rules!"

"Exactly! So this makes it 2-1! I win!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do! Pay up!"

A muscle pulsed in Asuma's jaw as he stared at her. Anko held out her hand, palm up, and he slapped it away.

"Yeah, right. It's a tie."

"Kiba caved-"

"Hinata fainted-"

"And Sakura beat Shikamaru!"

"She did not beat Shikamaru!"

"Yes she did!"

"No, she didn't!"

"How long do you think they'll argue?" Shikamaru asked, head tipped back as he watched clouds scuttle across the sky with half-open eyes.

"Dunno," Sakura shrugged, kicking at a pebble. "I don't get why they're making us do this pointless exercise when we should be training for the exams."

Shikamaru thought back to the eerie red-headed genin from the Sand Village. A few days of hard training wouldn't be enough to protect themselves against someone like him, if he seriously decided to kill them. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, I'm off. I'll get you what you want. If you need me for anything else, don't bother."


	11. Chapter 11

**author's note:** the chunin exams are finally here! i tried to make this chapter longer but it's not even 4,000 words, RIP. idk how people write those long chapters it's impressive and i do not have that kind of attention span lol.

thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited the story so far, it's very encouraging and means a lot!

the next update should be in 2-3 weeks so keep an eye out :) my life has calmed down slightly so hopefully it won't take me too long to finish up the next chapter.

without further ado, please enjoy ~~

* * *

A crowd of young shinobi milled about in the hallway, hesitant to enter the classroom doors guarded by two Leaf genin. Two other genin were slowly standing up, wincing.

"So, you're sure you are going to take the chunin exam with that pathetic level of skill?" the genin on the right smirked. He wore two large kunai blades strapped to his back. Ino privately nicknamed him "Kunai".

"Maybe it'd be best if you runts quit now," the other genin agreed. Ino decided to think of him as "Bandana". "You're just a bunch of brats, after all."

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata eyed the crowd of genin, many of whom appeared to be foreign. Since this was the classroom portion of the exam none of them were heavily armed, as far as she could tell. The two genin in front of the door, however, were armed to the teeth, with danger lingering in their sharp smiles. They were not giving off any killing intent, Ino noted. There was none of Anko's smothering sense of imminent torture and death, but there was something different about them, compared to the other genin in the hall. She decided they must have taken the exam before, and were trying to mess with the new candidates.

"Please let us through," one of the beaten genin pleaded. She wore a Leaf headband and nursed a newly formed bruise on her cheek. Her brown hair was unwinding from its two neat buns.

"Listen, we're doing you a favor," Kunai spoke, not unkindly, "the Chunin Exam is a big deal."

"Many times, we have seen candidates quit being shinobi or become disabled for life during the exam," his partner chimed in.

"Many times"? Sakura and Ino rolled their eyes in synch at that line. Hinata's perfect poker face cracked. The pair did not look much older than some of the genin candidates themselves.

"A Chunin is at the level of a unit leader," Bandana continued. Ino wondered if they had rehearsed this speech before. Their alternation was impeccable.

"Mission failures, the deaths of subordinates, the heavy responsibility of being a leader-I can't picture brats like you becoming Chunin."

"What's wrong with weeding out those who wouldn't pass, anyway? We're just making everyone's job easier here," Bandana grinned.

"A fair argument," a voice drawled from the back of the crowd, which parted to let through Sasuke, who sauntered over to the two chunin as if he had no cares in the world, his teammates flanking him.

"Hot," Ino muttered appreciatively under her breath.

"However, you will let me through," Sasuke continued. Ino noticed Chouji roll his eyes at that pompous proclamation.

"Also, you will undo this barrier that you've created with genjutsu. I have business on the third floor."

"So you noticed, huh?"

Ino stepped forward, unsuccessful in attempting to stifle her penchant for dramatic flair.

"This is the second floor," she said. "We noticed ages ago but didn't want to interrupt your speech."

"Not bad," Kunai replied as the illusion shattered, "but all you've done is catch on!" He launched himself at Sasuke, who reacted immediately, spinning into a kick.

There was a blur of green and suddenly one of the genin who had previously been beaten back from the entrance was holding each of their ankles in an iron grip.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he barely kept his balance, noticing Kunai was doing the same. After a moment, the boy in the jumpsuit let go.

"This isn't what you promised!" another boy hissed. He bore a remarkable resemblance to Hinata, with even longer and more lustrous hair. He stalked over to the boy in the jumpsuit, followed by the girl with the bruised face. "Now you've gone and carelessly attracted attention. They'll be watching us," the Hyuuga boy continued, but his lecture was cut short as the boy in the jumpsuit moved past him, distracted.

"Oh boy, here we go again," the girl sighed.

"You must be Sakura!" the boy in the jumpsut said. His teeth were blinding, perfectly straight and white as he grinned at her. "My name is Rock Lee!"

Sakura looked at him with blank green eyes. The boy blushed, rivaling Hinata's tomato-colored complexion when in the presence of Naruto.

"Please go out with me! I will protect you, until death!"

"Your death, or mine?" was all Sakura said as she moved past him. Ino snickered as she and Hinata followed their teammate down the hall towards the third floor.

"You-identify yourself," Rock Lee's imperious Hyuuga teammate ordered Sasuke.

"It's common courtesy to give your own name first, when you want to know someone else's." the Uchiha replied. "I guess it's true that the Hyuuga have no manners."

Chouji rolled his eyes. He felt like he did that a lot whenever Sasuke was around. It was laughable that the prickly, standoffish boy was lecturing anyone else on manners.

"You're a rookie, right? How old are you?" the other boy continued his interrogation, ignoring the barb.

Sasuke had a hard time believing the other boy was related to Hinata-not only was she more polite, she refrained from asking stupid questions. The Uchiha fan was stitched blatantly onto the back of his jacket, a blatant proclamation of what clan he belonged to. He was the only Uchiha left in the entire village (thanks to _that man_ ), so his age was rather well known, especially among large and powerful clans like the Hyuuga.

Unless there was something about this boy that prohibited him from knowing even common village intel among his clan.

A mystery for another day, Sasuke decided.

"I'm not obliged to answer," he responded coldly, pushing past the Hyuuga boy. "Let's go, Shino, Chouji."

* * *

The classroom on the third floor, the real location, was filled with shinobi.

"Are these applicants, too?" Kiba whispered to Shikamaru. They were a completely different class than the group of genin that had been stymied by the genjutsu trick on the floor below. These genin seemed older, stronger, harder. Sunlight streamed through the classroom windows, revealing a multitude of kunai, shuriken, and ninja wire. Some of the foreign genin exhibited gnarled scars. All of them evaluated the newcomers with flat, calculating looks that put Naruto on edge. He was relieved he had foregone his favorite orange jumpsuit in favor of a darker, umber colored jumpsuit with subtle orange venting slits and an Uzumaki swirl on each bicep.

"Are you really intimidated by this lot?" Sasuke asked, lounging against the wall. Naruto glared at him and Akamaru growled. Chouji placidly crunched on a fistful of chips and Shino lurked nearby, still as a statue.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed, bouncing into the room, Sakura and Hinata following her.

The rookie nine faced each other, all three teams realizing at the same time that they were all taking the exam.

"Are you sure you guys are prepared for this?" Sasuke asked, eyeing Shikamaru, who looked like he was on the verge of nodding off, and Sakura, who was looking around the room with a dazed expression.

"Are you?" Naruto challenged, annoyed by the other boy's superior attitude.

"Hn, you're plenty confident, aren't you?" Sasuke smirked.

"We've trained a lot," Kiba stood next to Naruto, Akamaru perched on his head. "We won't lose to you."

"You boys are so cute!" Ino cooed, batting her eyelashes at Sasuke. "Especially under the impression that you can beat us."

"Hey, you guys!" a tall, unfamiliar genin interrupted, walking over to their group. He wore large, thin-rimmed glasses, his silver hair tied back in a messy ponytail, his thin frame adding to his somewhat nerdy appearance.

All of them turned towards him.

"He looks kind of like a discount Kakashi-sensei," Naruto heard Chouji mutter. Sasuke snorted, mouth twisting in rare amusement.

"You guys are fresh out of the Academy, the Rookie Nine, right? You're so cute!" There was a sadistic glimmer in his dark eyes, at odds with his light, jesting tone.

"Who the hell are you?" Kiba asked, annoyed.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto," the boy replied.

None of them moved an inch, staring at him. Naruto could feel the glares of the other contestants, watching the conversation. He almost laughed, a bitter, ironic outburst that he barely managed to restrain; this was just like going to the market place, or walking through any crowded public space in the village. People out to get him, who looked down on him and hated him. This was no different.

"Take a look around. Those guys behind you," Kabuto continued. "They're from the Rain Village…a bunch of hot-tempered bastards. Everyone's tense before the exam, stressed out. I thought I should warn you guys before you get your asses kicked, but I guess it can't be helped." He was smirking openly now, dark, mean eyes dancing with mirth. "You're rookies who don't know left from right."

"So how many times have you taken the exam, then?" Ino asked.

"This is my seventh time," Kabuto replied, unperturbed. "The exam's only held twice a year, and this is my fourth year."

"You must know a lot about the exam, then," Naruto observed.

"You could say that."

"But you haven't passed," Shikamaru said. He looked slightly less bored, and slightly more annoyed, than usual. There was a little crease between his eyebrows. "All that experience and information hasn't seemed to help you."

Kabuto ignored the insult.

"Well, that may be so, but maybe I'll give some advice to my cute juniors." He pulled out a pack of what looked like trading cards from his pocket. Naruto's curiosity propelled him forward, and he peered at the orange cards as the older boy smirked at them. "They've got coded information burned into them with chakra," he explained. "I've gathered this information over the past four years. There are almost two hundred cards, and they can only be accessed using my chakra. I've got the number of participants, what villages they're from, and even more intel."

Naruto was grudgingly impressed. So were some of the others, like Chouji, Ino, and Sakura. Shikamaru yawned.

"Why do you think we have the chunin exams?" Kabuto asked what was clearly a rhetorical question.

"It's said to be to strengthen the bonds between shinobi of different villages, and to train the next generation." He paused.

"What do you mean by 'it's said'?" Ino asked.

"The real aim is to check the power of the other nations. Its purpose is to keep the power balance equal. Otherwise, the weak nations would be overrun by the strong ones in no time at all. This exam is meant, in part, to be a deterrent to monopolistic control." He paused, meeting Ino's eyes. "I'm sorry, was that too complicated for you?"

If those words had been directed at him, Naruto thought, he would have punched the smug older boy. Ino's chilly blue eyes narrowed and her mouth was a thin line.

As it was, Sasuke interrupted, asking,

"Do any of those cards have detailed information about individual people?"

"Yes, is there anyone you're concerned about?"

"Hn."

"Well, the information for this round of applicants isn't perfect, but I do have the data for those you are concerned with…and for you all, too. Is there anyone in particular you would like to know about?"

Naruto could see the indecision that flickered momentarily over Sasuke's face.

"Rock Lee, of the Leaf Village."

"And Gaara of the Sand," Naruto added on a whim.

"According to my information," Kabuto said, peering at one of the cards, a fine glow of chakra on his fingertips, "it appears this is Rock Lee's first time taking the exam as well, but he is one year older than you all and became a genin last year. His teammates are Hyuga Neji and Sato Tenten. Apparently, he is notable for his taijutsu, but is subpar in everything else. He's completed 20 D-rank missions and 8 C-ranks. Gaara's a rookie from another village, so I don't have as much intel on him. But it appears he has never been injured on any mission he has undertaken, including a B-rank. As you can see, they are both accomplished genin…but it isn't just them. Every candidate in this room is an elite genin, here to represent their village the best they can."

Suddenly, there was a gust of wind and a blur of motion and Kabuto leaped backwards, two kunai embedded where he had been standing a split second before. Naruto could barely follow what was happening as Kabuto narrowly dodged a right hook from a foreign shinobi wrapped in a fur cloak, bandages obscuring all but a single, bloodshot eye.

Kabuto straightened up.

"You missed," he taunted. The foreign shinobi, flanked by his teammates, just watched, silent.

Kabuto tensed as the lenses of his glasses cracked and shattered. Suddenly, he was doubled over, dry heaving.

Naruto resisted the urge to fidget, the harsh sound grating on his nerves.

"What the hell is going on?" Kiba muttered. Akamaru yipped in confusion.

"I thought he dodged it," Sasuke commented, "it was easy to track the speed."

"A trick," Shikamaru muttered.

None of the rookie nine moved, watching as the foreign shinobi took a step towards Kabuto, now on his hands and knees, retching.

"A-are you okay?" Naruto ventured to ask.

"You think the Sound Village is some throwaway, second-rate shinobi hideout? You think a large village could so easily control us?" the genin snarled. "Idiot. You're not one to talk. You're not so special. Even though you've been taking the exam for four whole years, you don't know anything. Why don't you write this on your stupid little card." He leaned forward, his teammates laughing. "Take note-the three genin of the Sound Village, who will become chunin without a doubt!"

"Wow, that guy sounds kind of like a meaner version of Naruto," Kiba snickered. "The Sound Village, believe it!"

"Shut up," Naruto said. "Like you have any idea what trick that guy used to make Kabuto vomit like that."

Kiba frowned.

"SILENCE!" A huge explosion at the front of the classroom diverted the crowd's attention to the front of the classroom. A tall, bald man in a bandana, the Leaf insignia low over dark, sunken eyes, appeared like a wraith in a long, dark coat. He stepped out of the smoke, flanked by ten Leaf shinobi in dark gray uniforms. Kabuto and the Sound shinobi were instantly forgotten.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The long, diagonal scars on his face twisted horrifically as he spoke. Naruto saw Ino stiffen out of the corner of his eye, and there was a glimmer of recognition in Shikamaru's eye. "I'm Morino Ibiki, proctor for the first stage of the chunin exam. These are my assistants. You will draw a number, sit in your assigned seat, and the exam will be handed out."

Naruto could hardly believe his ears. A paper test? He thought that had been left behind at the academy!

Kiba elbowed him in the side before he could howl in despair.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Huh?"

"Morino Ibiki is the head of T&I."

"T…and I?" Naruto was still panicking about the prospect of a paper test.

"Torture and interrogation," Kiba said flatly. Ino looked like she was about to vomit.

"He's Anko-sensei's favorite," she said, as if that explained everything. "She worships him."

"Before we begin, I have one other thing to say." Ibiki continued. "You, from the Sound Village, take note - there will be no competitions, skirmishes, or the like unless expressly permitted by the proctors. Even then, there will be no potentially lethal confrontations. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," they answered, not looking sorry in the least. One of the proctors chuckled, a man with a thin strip of bandage wrapped around his nose. Naruto felt a twisting anxiety in the pit of his stomach. All of his previous confidence, from hours of training with Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, and Kiba, had been swept aside by the thought of the written test.

"Here are the rules," Ibiki proclaimed, once they had all taken numbers and settled into their seats.

"Listen closely. I will not repeat myself and I will not field any questions. First, this is a deduction-point system. For every answer you get wrong, 1 point will be deducted from your 10-point starting score. 2 points will be deducted for every instance a proctor catches you cheating. The total score will be the average of your genin team. In the case of even one team member getting zero points, the whole team will fail. You will have one hour. Begin!"

* * *

Ino rolled her eyes.

"Oh, just go talk to him, Hinata!"

The Hyuuga girl froze, her face flushing bright red as she tore her gaze from Naruto, who was celebrating in his usual exuberant way with Kiba and Shikamaru, resigned to his teammates' shenanigans. Steam seemed to blow from Hinata's ears at the prospect of a conversation with her long-time crush.

"He'll probably be really happy if you go say something," Ino said, more gently. Hinata glanced between Ino and Naruto for several minutes until she was saved the trouble of deciding as Naruto bounded over towards them.

"Yo, Sakura! Hinata, Ino!" he grinned. "Congrats on beating the first round! We're gonna be chunin before you know it, believe it!"

"C-c-c-c-c" Hinata stuttered.

"She means congratulations," Ino smoothly interrupted. Sakura nodded, seemingly disinterested in the conversation. Her eyes were fixed on the older genin, Kabuto, on the other side of the room.

"So, how'd you guys do it?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, we just copied Sakura," Ino replied with a wave of her hand. "It was easy. How did you manage to pass? Although, I suppose having Shikamaru on your team makes up for your dismal scoring," She added thoughtfully, seemingly unaware of her harsh words. The tips of Naruto's ears turned red and he glanced down at his shoes.

"I-I-I think you were great, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said in a single rush of breath.

"Huh?" Naruto turned to look at her, surprised. She looked kind of pale and he put out a hand to steady her, but she only seemed to become more unsteady when he grabbed her elbow. "I mean, I didn't really do anything, Shikamaru just used his shadow jutsu thing to control me and write down all the answers. I guess I kind of talked a lot when he asked the final question, but you guys all showed determination too, and I guess that was the important part…Are you sure you're feeling alright, Hinata?"

"Hmph," Sasuke snorted, glancing at them as he passed by.

Naruto bristled at the dismissive demeanor of the other boy.

"Yah, don't act like you did anything cool either! You just copied Sakura's answers with those creepy eyes of yours!"

Sasuke glared at him with blood-red eyes, single comma spinning lazily around the pupil. "Shut up, dead last."

"Oh yeah, make me!" Naruto snarled back, letting go of Hinata's arm and turning to face the last Uchiha, hands balled into fists.

They were stopped short from swinging at each other when several large, sharp senbon that pinned their sleeves to the wall. Sasuke gulped at the senbon an inch from his nose and glanced over at Hinata, who was glaring at the two boys, her shyness forgotten, more senbon at the ready.

"Don't make me use the poison ones that Sakura gave me," she said, her quiet voice devoid of any stutter. "It wouldn't be pretty."

"H-Hinata!"

Sasuke found himself annoyed by the dumbfounded look on Naruto's face, his mouth so wide that a _Coscinocera hercules_ could have flown right down his throat. (The world's largest moth. One learned a lot about bugs from being Shino's teammate.)

"Please, Naruto." Hinata's voice softened as she gifted him a sliver of a smile. "Don't fight or attract too much attention. It isn't only genin from our village taking the exam-this isn't a time to slack off. And while we might be classmates from the Leaf," her gaze flickered to Sasuke and back to Naruto, "you are not my genin teammates, and we are competing against each other. I will not hesitate to remove you if necessary if you continue to make a scene or act rashly."

Naruto gulped audibly, blue eyes wide. Sasuke barely kept himself from flinching as Hinata reached over with a graceful hand and yanked out the senbon from the wall and his sleeve. She slipped the weapons back in her sleeve, bowed slightly, and walked away with her teammates. Naruto and Sasuke shared a moment of awed bewilderment before they remembered they didn't like each other, and parted with mutual looks of disgust.

Hinata was right. There was no room for error. The exam was a long way from finished.


	12. Chapter 12

**author's note:** well, i'm not dead, here i am with another chapter. it took me forever to write this because life is slowly destroying me.

i didn't remember like any of the chunin exams so i just kind of winged it, hopefully you guys like it.

ALSO i am looking for a beta reader! i have no idea how to get one but if you are interested please message me. i think having a beta would really improve the speed that i get these chapters done, which would be great for me and you guys! everyone wins! anyway please reach out if you are interested!

~happy reading~

* * *

Konoha flags snapped in the wind as the genin gathered in front of the tall wooden gates leading to the Forest of Death. Graffiti was scratched into one of the poles, flecked with what appeared to be blood: _Abandon hope, all you who enter here._

"What the…" one of the Kumogakure genin muttered, peering at it, uneasy.

Ino stifled a snicker. She recognized Anko's sloppy handwriting.

"Listen up, candidates!" A Leaf jounin stood in front of the gates. He was remarkably bland- _how ironic_ , Ino thought. With a round face dusted with freckles, and short curly hair, he was a complete contrast to the terror of Morino Ibiki earlier. Somehow that made Ino more nervous. Some of the genin nearest to him jumped at his sudden appearance, while others managed to keep their cool but looked uncertain, unsure of how long he had been standing there observing them.

"Hey, who's that guy?" Ino heard Naruto whisper loudly, and Kiba shushed him even more loudly.

"My name is Kanden Tekuno. Welcome to training ground 36. You will be participating in the second round of the chunin exams here. Each team will be assigned a scroll, either 'Heaven' or 'Earth'," he held up two scrolls, one pale blue, the other green. "Your objective is to arrive at the tower, located within the training ground, with one Heaven scroll and one Earth scroll in your possession. This is a team exercise. You will have three days to complete it."

The genin milled about, unsure of what to do, as the jounin finished his speech.

Naruto pushed past the crowd, his blond head bobbing among the dark uniforms, gleaming weapons, and dusty packs of the other genin. He could have sworn one of them actually hissed at him, a tall, serpentine girl from Kusa, when he trod on her foot.

"Sorry," he muttered. _And people call me a freak…_

Reaching the front of the crowd, Shikamaru and Kiba not far behind, he walked up to the jounin at the gates.

"Tanken Kakuro, or whatever the heck your name is, give us a scroll so we can get a move on!

"…Please" he added when he heard Shikamaru heave a long sigh from somewhere behind him.

A flicker of amusement passed over the jounin's face as he slapped a Heaven scroll into Naruto's open palm.

"Here you go, kid," he said. "The rest of you, line up! You're wasting daylight!"

* * *

Hinata swatted yet another mosquito with pin-point accuracy. She, Ino, and Sakura were perched in the crook of a large tree branch, hidden among the leafy canopy.

"Do you see anything?" Ino asked her.

"I'll let you know." Hinata's Byakugan was activated, pale lilac eyes glowing as she scouted the area around them.

The three of them had collected their scroll and immediately set up a vantage point, disguising their location and relying on Hinata's Byakugan to find a team with an Earth scroll to match their Heaven scroll. Sakura had memorized which teams received which scrolls as they waited in line, so she knew the scroll type of the majority of the teams.

Hinata tensed.

"What is it?" Ino asked, grabbing a kunai.

"I-I'm not sure," Hinata replied, brow furrowed and head tilted. "It looks like-one of the Ame teams ran into a team from Sand-"

"Is it the redhead?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Hinata whispered, her eyes wide as a look of horror stole over her face.

"What happened?" Ino scanned the treeline in vain, frustrated that she couldn't tell what was going on.

"They're all dead," Hinata whispered. "T-the team from Ame. There was a redheaded boy and he…he destroyed them." Her brow furrowed. "It didn't seem like a normal jutsu…"

"Kekkei genkai, maybe?" Sakura mused.

"We should get out of here," Ino said.

"Wait. Hinata, which scroll did the Ame team have? Did the team from Sand take it with them?"

"It was an Earth scroll," Hinata said.

"Just what we need!"

"What if it's a trap?" Ino asked. "They circle back and kill whoever comes to collect the scroll?"

"I don't think they cared about the scroll." Hinata said. "The blond girl was already carrying three."

Ino felt queasy at the implication. "How many teams do you think they murdered?"

"Maybe they're trying to get rid of as many competitors as possible."

"Should we risk it, in that case?"

"…Maybe not." Sakura sighed. "You're right, it might be a trap. I guess it's not worth it."

"Agreed," Hinata said, and the three moved through the trees in the opposite direction of the clearing, where mangled limbs streaked with sand littered the forest floor.

"What the hell!" Ino screeched as they hid in yet another tree, closer to the middle of the training ground, approximately forty-five minutes later.

"Keep your voice down, Pig!"

"This has to be some kind of joke." Ino wrapped her hand around a kunai to keep it from shaking. "This is supposed to be the chunin exams! What are all these super-powerful freaks doing here?"

"They're definitely not genin-level," Sakura mused, "That red-haired Sand genin obliterated an entire team without even blinking."

"Literally, he didn't blink," Hinata agreed, "I was watching."

"And that creepy kunoichi from Kusa murdered her own teammates! With a sword that she pulled out of her own throat! In like point-two seconds! I repeat, _what the hell_!?"

"Well," Hinata said, "she did leave behind a scroll-an Earth scroll."

"Again? Do none of them care about the actual objective of the exam?"

"Who cares?" Sakura asked. "This might be our chance!"

"The way looks clear," Hinata said. "The kunoichi is long gone."

Sakura turned towards Ino with a triumphant look on her face.

Ino sighed. She could feel a headache building behind her temples. "Alright, let's go pick it up."

* * *

A cold sweat trickled down the back of Chouji's neck. The oppressive, heavy aura of the Kusa shinobi standing in the clearing meant bad news.

"Pleased to meet you, Sasuke-kun." The kunoichi smiled, too wide. The genin of Team 7 stared in horrified fascination as the Kusa shinobi's face melted with a sibilant hiss, revealing a snake-like man.

"Who-" Sasuke muttered, eyes turning Sharingan-red.

"You don't know me?" the mysterious shinobi chuckled. A single fang poked from his thin-lipped mouth. His smooth, almost translucent skin crinkled in amusement as he smiled. "I suppose I was a little before your time."

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Chouji's stomach as he realized who they were dealing with. "The snake Sannin, Orochimaru."

"Very good!" Orochimaru purred, "I suppose some Akimichi do have some small modicum of intelligence after all. Unfortunately for you, it won't matter."

"You're going to kill us," Shino stated.

"Another smart one! You were very lucky with your team, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke immediately had two kunai in each hand, coiled like a spring and tensed for the attack. "You won't get away with this!"

"We won't let you take Sasuke!" Chouji shook with fear as he pulled out a kunai.

"Why? He's our teammate," Shino took up a defensive stance, kikaichu bugs pouring into the ground around his feet.

"And here I thought you had some margin of intelligence," Orochimaru drawled. "Whatever, I'll make this quick."

Chouji whirled around, hearing a rustling noise from behind him, and almost screamed as a giant snake, as thick as an old tree, with armored yellow scales, towered over him. He managed a shallow stab with the kunai but the snake swallowed him.

Sasuke and Shino barely registered their teammate's predicament as they found themselves fighting for their lives. Orochimaru was fast and unpredictable, his movements fluid and unnaturally graceful.

"He's toying with us," Sasuke snarled, Sharingan spinning as he barely ducked a swipe from the long, glimmering sword Orochimaru wielded.

Shino had no time to respond as he desperately blocked a kick, which threw him backwards. He flipped into a rough landing, trying to avoid his bugs, which swarmed over the grass. He felt a strong bolt of frustration at his paltry colony size. His father said the kikaichu colony numbers could only be expanded with age, due to the mutualistic nature of their symbiotic relationship with the Aburame shinobi. Shino had a somewhat large colony for a twelve-year old, but it wasn't enough against an opponent like Orochimaru. Bugs crawled indiscriminately all over the snake Sannin, who paid no attention to them. He didn't seem to be feeling their chakra draining effects at all.

Pure panic coursed through Chouji as he found himself inside the warm, slimy inside of the giant snake summons. He screamed ( _how long had he been screaming?_ He wondered hysterically if he was losing his voice.) and slashed out with the kunai, to no avail. The sounds of the battle outside were muffled and he wondered how his teammates were doing. Probably not too well.

He had to get back to them. He had to get out of the snake somehow. Chouji lodged the kunai in its pink flesh and hunted through his pack in a sudden burst of inspiration. His father had counseled him to only use these in an emergency, but this definitely counted as an emergency. He popped the red pill in his mouth and his breath hitched with pain as he felt a sudden rush of overwhelming energy. Chouji took a deep breath and brought his hands together, squashing the voice in the back of his head that told him this jutsu would be too difficult even with the red pill. As he performed the jutsu he felt his body expand, stretching the body of the snake as he grew larger and larger.

There was a poof of smoke and Sasuke and Shino used the sudden cover to dive out of the way of Orochimaru's onslaught.

A gasping Chouji stood in the clearing, covered in a thin film of mucous. Chunks of snake littered the clearing and blood dripped from the leaves overhead.

Orochimaru hissed in anger at the loss of his summons and sped towards Chouji, his grim yellow eyes gaining a new lethality.

And found he couldn't move.

"Sasuke! Fire jutsu!" Shikamaru called from the cover of the trees, his shadow tethering Orochimaru.

A plume of fire burst from Sasuke's lips, singing branches and leaves. The signature Uchiha fireball grew in size as brush and dried leaf debris burned with gusto, whipped into the air by a strong gust of wind that blew through the clearing.

"How do you like that, snake man!" Naruto's jubilant shout rang out as he completed the wind jutsu. "Hey, hey, Kiba, it's like a snake barbeque!"

"Nasty!" Kiba responded, sounding far too gleeful for their current situation.

Nausea roiled in Chouji's stomach as the acrid smoke of burning flesh hit his nose. Orochimaru was a pillar of fire.

He seemed to be burning faster than normal. Chouji gasped, choking on the smoke he inhaled, as he realized what had happened.

"So you finally got the bugs to secrete flammable oils?" he asked Shino.

The Aburame's proud smile was hidden by the high collar of his coat.

"We decided it would be useful to develop a coordinated attack since the Uchiha have several strong fire jutsu," Shino said in response to Kiba and Naruto's blank looks, "and the Aburame kikaichu bugs are adaptable, with careful training, for application of a number of tasks."

"Who talks like that?" Kiba shook his head, eyeing Shino with trepidation. "You gotta get out more, dude."

"Just being practical," Sasuke shot back in defense of his teammate.

"You sound like you don't have any friends and all your conversations are with a dictionary," Naruto snickered.

Sasuke's red eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Say that again, dead last-"

"We don't have time for this," Shikamaru interrupted, impatient. "We need to leave before he regenerates."

"Regenerates?" Chouji asked, bewildered. In all the years he had known him, Chouji had never known Shikamaru to be impatient for any reason. If anything, he made everyone else around him impatient, as he did his best to mimic a sloth in his daily life. Chouji looked towards his childhood friend, and noticed he still had Orochimaru's shadow trapped, although the fire was still going strong.

"Ok," he agreed.

"Your team goes first," Shikamaru ordered. "Naruto and Kiba will follow, and I will bring up the rear." He sighed. "This is so troublesome."

* * *

"Look what we have here," the Oto shinobi snickered, a crazed expression in his single eye, the rest of his face obscured by bandages. He was flanked by his teammates: on his left, a boy with spiky black hair and a camouflage scarf; on his right, a kunoichi with a bottle-green vest and a thin-lipped smile.

Chouji could barely believe their terrible luck. He recognized them as the mysterious shinobi who had beaten up Kabuto before the first exam; they would be tough opponents, on a good day. And unfortunately, the circumstances were far less than ideal. First, Orochimaru of the Sannin, of all people! And now, having miraculously survived that encounter, battered and exhausted, they faced yet more enemies. Sasuke's and Shino's tense silence indicated that they knew just as well as he did, that there was no way they would be able to defeat the Oto shinobi. Shino was suffering from chakra exhaustion but managing to cling to consciousness through sheer willpower. Sasuke was covered in countless lacerations from Orochimaru's sword, his pale skin whiter than usual from blood loss. When Chouji had asked him earlier if he was okay, the other boy had grunted "Hn," and the inquiry had ended there.

The lead shinobi flashed a hand signal, too quick to follow, and his teammates leapt forward.

The spiky-haired boy thrust his open palm in Shino's face, blasting him backwards with a burst of air from holes in his forearms and palms. The boy laughed as Shino hit a tree and crumpled to the ground. He pivoted neatly with the help of air from the pipes in his strangely engineered arms, wheeled around for a finishing blow. Shino rolled out of the way, a burst of compressed air skimming his cheekbone and splintering the tree bark behind him.

"Sound village might be small, but we're deadly. The Leaf has grown fat and lazy. They don't know how to get their hands dirty. I bet you've never killed anyone before." A blast of air shot from his elbow towards Shino's midsection and he twisted away, a thin ribbon of blood trickling down his side. "Well, I have," the boy continued, "And you're next!"

He dived at Shino, who brought his hands up and grasped the enemy's wrists. His colony had been severely depleted in the fight against Orochimaru but he had enough for this. Kikaichu bugs flowed from his sleeves to cover the hands and arms of the Oto shinobi.

"What the hell," the boy snarled, trying to pull away from Shino's iron grasp as bugs swarmed over his skin. "You thought this would stop me? Like I said, Leaf shinobi are soft idiots. I'll blow these bugs away and take your face off with them!"

The confident look on the boy's face was replaced with a dawning horror as a strange whistling sound emanated from his forearms, the air blocked by the teeming mass of bugs crawling into the pipes. There was a strange, wet boom and Shino almost gagged as chunks of shredded flesh and blood spattered over him like rainwater. The Oto boy was screaming, blood gushing from the stumps of both of his arms. He reeled backwards and Shino used the opportunity to punch him in the face, knocking him out.

He took off his gore-covered sunglasses and tried to clean them with the edge of his sleeve, which was only marginally less dirty.

Taking stock of the situation, Shino saw Sasuke engaged with the kunoichi. His teammate's Sharingan was activated, but he seemed slower than usual, barely keeping up with an opponent who he would have easily defeated in any other context. Chouji lay prone some distance away, the Oto team leader moving in for the kill.

A wave of nausea hit Shino, his gut tightening with panic as he realized he was too far away to reach Chouji in time.

Sasuke saw Chouji fall to the ground unconscious, unable to diffuse the Oto leader's attack despite using one of his family jutsus. Sasuke moved to help him but a wave of dizziness hit him, the ground tilted at a 30 degree angle.

"It's your lucky day," he said, Sharingan swirling as he flung a shuriken at the kunoichi, "genjutsu doesn't work on me."

"Well, isn't this a treat? You must be the one Orochimaru-sama wants. You have pretty eyes." She flung a handful of senbon at Sasuke and he evaded each of them with the aid of his Sharingan, but his limbs felt slow and one of them almost hit him in the arm. Fire streamed from Sasuke's mouth but the great fireball jutsu was tiny and lacked the searing heat it usually produced.

"You know, I thought you'd be better than this," the kunoichi remarked, preparing to throw another round of needles. "It's kind of disappointing."

Sasuke managed to dodge the shower of senbon but he felt a flicker of panic as his vision blurred. He blinked and the blurriness resolved, but Sasuke was breathing heavily. This fight should be over by now-it was a laughable mismatch of abilities, given Sasuke's sharingan against a primary genjutsu user, but he couldn't seem to gather the force to attack. His head pounded and he swallowed hard, stomach churning with unease. The enemy kunoichi pressed the attack, her lethal needles ripping through his clothing, small cuts peppering his skin.

"SASUKE-KUN!" twin voices shrieked.

Sasuke dimly wondered if Orochimaru's poison was affecting his hearing now. His vision cleared for a brief moment, in time to see a blur of pink and blond slam into the enemy kunoichi. Wiry hands grasped his shoulders and dragged him backwards to the edge of the clearing. Sasuke struggled to ignore his monstrous headache and dizziness, turning to see Shino let go of him and slump down next to him, exhaustion evident in the stoic Aburame's every movement.

"What," Sasuke rasped, coughing, "What's happening?"

"It looks like Team 8 has come to help," Shino replied, sounding as bad as Sasuke felt.

He turned back to see Sakura and Ino battling the Oto kunoichi, and Hinata fighting their leader, defending an unconscious Chouji. Unfortunately, the Oto shinobi were unflustered by the arrival of reinforcements.

Sakura stumbled, the horizon never seeming to lie flat, the Oto kunoichi casting genjutsu as fast as she could dispel them. Ino shrieked as four senbon scraped across her face. She lifted her hand, coughing, to wipe away the blood that streamed into her eyes and nose and mouth, only to double over as the kunoichi kicked her in the stomach.

"Sakura! Ino!" it was Hinata. "Let me take care of her!"

"Okay," Ino called back, "We'll grab Chouji!" She grabbed Sakura and turned to face their new enemy as Hinata flew past, Byakugan glowing.

"Fleeing already?" the Oto leader sneered, "you Leaf ninja are all so pathetic!"

"He's too heavy!" Ino told Sakura, straining to pull Chouji away from the combat. She managed to drag him a few feet towards Shino and Sasuke.

"We've got to help them," Shino said, "how are you feeling, Sasuke?"

He groaned in response, struggling not to vomit. He was so dizzy he could barely shake his head, and there was a new ringing in his ears.

Shino frowned at his teammate, whose condition seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. He glanced over at Chouji, still passed out several yards away. Hinata was engaged with her opponent, the pair of slim girls with dark hair almost a mirror of each other, viciously trading blows as the air rained senbon around them. Sakura and Ino had taken up a defensive position against the Oto leader, blocking him from reaching Chouji, Shino, or Sasuke.

"Shino, get them to safety," Ino gasped. Blood was smeared across her face, leaking from four nasty-looking lacerations that narrowly missed her left eye and carved across her cheekbone. She flung a kunai from each hand at the Oto team leader, who dodged both of them, only to be grazed by a shuriken thrown by Sakura.

"Is this all you've got?" he snickered, darting forward.

Sakura was on the ground, vomiting, reminiscent of the altercation between the Oto shinobi and Kabuto earlier.

"Sakura!" Ino shouted.

"Sakura!" Rock Lee shouted, having arrived upon the scene with his teammates. With an incoherent yell, he threw himself at the Oto shinobi, who was poised to drive a kunai into Sakura's unprotected back.

The Oto shinobi, taken by surprise, flew backwards, slamming into a tree with enough force to topple it as Rock Lee punched him three feet into the ground.

"Hinata!" Neji's Byukaugan shone as he shot forward, right hand extended in the Hyuuga gentle fist style. Hinata had barely registered her cousin's approach, focusing instead on her opponent. The Oto kunoichi had wore a look of mild panic, her left arm hanging useless where Hinata had closed the tenketsu points. Hinata drew her fist back to finish the fight but Neji was suddenly between them, jabbing his hand into the other girl's windpipe. She collapsed with a strange croaking noise.

"What were you thinking?" her cousin turned toward her, lavender eyes furious.

Later, Hinata attributed her next words to adrenaline.

"No, what were you thinking? I was fighting to protect my teammates and friends! Like any good shinobi would do!"

"They're not worth it," Neji responded, voice frigid. "You put yourself in danger, as irresponsible and stupid as always."

"You didn't have to come to my rescue! I didn't ask for your help!"

"It doesn't matter if you asked or not, it is my job. Although I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Try me!"

"I am a member of the branch family! You can never understand," he snarled. Hinata flinched.

"What's going on over there?" Ino asked as she and Sakura approached. She was limping and bloody but her blue eyes were sharp and calculating. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course there's no problem!" Rock Lee bounded over from the miniature crater he had created by pummeling the enemy shinobi into the dirt. He grabbed Neji in a good-natured headlock and flashed a blinding

smile at the three girls.

"Right," Ino muttered.

"Anyway, we'd like to thank you for everything. If you hadn't shown up when you did…" Sakura trailed off.

"Yes! Thank you," Hinata agreed. Neji glared at her.

"You've got a Heaven scroll, right?" Sakura asked Tenten, trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere.

"Yes!" Tenten caught on. "Yes, we do."

"Well, why don't you take this Heaven scroll as a gesture of our thanks? You did help us out just now-"

"Sakura! What a blooming example of the Flower of Youth! We are eternally indebted to you!"

"Who is this 'we'?" Neji muttered, a venomous look on his face as he eyed his cousin. Hinata avoided eye contact, staring at the ground.

"…a paragon of generosity, a shining example of the ninja way of the Leaf Village!" Rock Lee continued, releasing Neji and bowing so low his forehead almost hit the ground.

Ino and Tenten both struggled not to laugh at the look on Sakura's face.

"We've already got a scroll," she muttered. "So we didn't need that one. It's really no big deal."

"So humble! So beautiful! Will you go on a date with me!?"

Ino and Tenten doubled over with silent laughter. Neji and Hinata, without realizing it, wore identical looks of mild disgust.

"Let's go," Sakura said desperately, ignoring the energetic bows of the spandex-clad boy.

"What about Sasuke? And Chouji?" Ino asked. "And Shino-hey, wait! Where did they go?"

* * *

"Thank god we got out of there," Chouji muttered. "Of course I regain consciousness just as that Rock Lee kid is giving a speech."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, stumbling over a tree root, arms looped around his teammates' shoulders as they supported most of his weight.

"All we have to do is get to the tower," Shino said. None of them responded, unwilling to say the truth- that they were in no shape to collect another scroll.


	13. Chapter 13

here's another chapter, it's kind of a filler but i had to get some stuff out of the way (like Neji being a DICK) anyway next ch will have tons of sakura, hinata, and ino, so get excited - also if anyone knows how i can get a beta reader or wants to volunteer PLEASE i need to bounce ideas off someone because i have no idea wtf i'm doing at this point lol rip

* * *

The tower was windowless. The only exit appeared to be the door from which they had just entered. The room was empty except for a placard on the far wall, which read:

"If Heaven does not exist, enrich your knowledge and prepare for the chance. If Earth does not exist, run the fields in search of an advantage. Open the series of Heaven and Earth, and the perilous way shall be redressed… This is namely the secret of the one that guides-"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. Chouji agreed with him that this was one of the worst poems he has ever read.

"I think this means we are supposed to open the scrolls," Shino said, trying to fix his broken, lopsided glasses.

Chouji fished the two scrolls from where they sat nestled between several empty bags of crispy snacks. He did his best to wipe the sandy gore off of the scroll they picked up in the forest before tossing it to Shino.

"On three?"

Sasuke's Sharingan flickered to life, ready to scrutinize the scrolls for any foul play. Chouji and Shino unfurled them to reveal scribbled characters.

"They're part of a summoning jutsu! Everyone, get back!"

Shino and Chouji chucked the scrolls at the opposite wall and huddled by the tower doorway with Sasuke.

"Welcome, Team Seven!" Iruka smiled, the scar across his nose stretching with his grin.

The shrill beep of a timer shrieked from the watch in Iruka's hand and Chouji jumped about a foot in the air.

"That's time! Congratulations on surviving the second exam. It looks like you guys had a rough go of it, but you got here in the nick of time." Iruka sounded pleased. Team Seven stared at him. Chouji took a deep breath. Shino and Sasuke leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, boneless with exhaustion.

"What if we had looked at the scroll during the exam?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah, sharp as ever, Sasuke-this exam was designed to test your capability to adhere to mission parameters. If you had disobeyed orders and opened the scroll in the forest, I was instructed to knock anyone present unconscious and you would have failed the exam."

"What about the poem?"

"Well, these are instructions from the Hokage to chunin. Heaven stands for the head, Earth stands for the body…in other words, if your weaknesses are mental, you should study logic and gain knowledge to prepare for your missions. If your weakness is physical strength, the "Earth" referenced in the poem, you must train daily and improve your physicality. Heaven and Earth, mind and body, must be considered together and any peril can be overcome."

He grinned at them, but the three bedraggled genin looked less than impressed. Their clothes were tattered, and it was difficult to tell at first glance what was dirt and what was bruises. They appeared to be trying not to pass out. Iruka cleared his throat and hurried on with his prepared speech. "This exam was designed to test your capabilities as chunin-shinobi who are capable of leadership and the responsibility of leading a team. Be aware of the importance of both knowledge and physical strength in completing missions. When you take on the next step, never forget these instructions, and what it means to be a chunin."

* * *

Nausea twisted in her stomach, a stabbing hot coal of panic and guilt and anger. Anko knew she must look ridiculous, hair spiking in every direction, cheeks flushed from the wind that buffeted her face on the way to the Hokage tower. Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe and looked at her from underneath the brim of his hat.

"What is it?"

Anko didn't have the energy to explain; it had been expended during that heart-stopping minute in the forest:

 _"Long time no see, my little student."_

 _A kunai, slick with blood, jammed into the mossy bark of an old tree._

 _"That boy is unique."_

 _Sunlight glinting off golden eyes, striking in a too-pale face._

 _"Do you still believe I used you and cast you away?"_

 _The white-hot pain searing into her neck as he considered her with a clinical gaze._

 _"Don't try to stop me; you know what will happen."_

"He's here," she choked, knowing the Hokage understood who she meant.

"Yes," the old man agreed after a moment. His long fingers, webbed with tiny silvery scars, were folded in front of him. "The situation is being addressed as we speak. You will continue as previously instructed."

He cut her off as she opened her mouth to protest.

"This is not a discussion. You are emotionally compromised." His dark eyes were flanked by crows' feet wrinkles, his whole tanned face creased with age; but there were no laughter lines there, and he looked tired. "Remember your duty to the village-to your students. The preliminary exams start this afternoon."

The knot in Anko's stomach tightened, nausea roiling in her gut. Orochimaru was her teacher. The Hokage was his teacher. It was like a strange family reunion, three generations linked by a madman, shaped by ruthless violence and equally ruthless refusal. The Sandaime's refusal to kill his prized student, but willingness to brand him a traitor to the village. Orochimaru's refusal to face the reality of mortality, but willingness to cross all ethical lines in a search for eternal life. And her own refusal to follow her old teacher, but willingness to use his teachings against him to bring him to justice.

In spite of herself, she remembered how happy and relieved her three cute genin had been when they had entered the tower in the Forest of Death: Sakura and Ino's jubilant, triumphant celebration, and Hinata's quieter but equal excitement. Anko's fingers flexed and she took a deep breath. The Hokage sat straight-backed and it was clear that he would not give her any more information. She assumed that teams of ANBU were hunting down the treacherous Sannin, but given the unusual presence of foreign shinobi in the village for the exams, any disturbances would need to be dealt with secretly to avoid any embarrassment for the Leaf. The curse mark itched and burned on the back of her neck, and she worried that secrecy would not be enough. Orochimaru had escaped the village forces before. As a highly-ranked shinobi, she trusted her Hokage, but she could not entirely relax the ball of anxiety that sat heavy in her stomach. She wanted to hunt her old teacher down and rip his spine out through his neck and strangle him with it. Instead, she dipped into a shallow bow.

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

Anko wasn't sure how she managed to hide the panic twisting her insides into knots, but her cute little oblivious genin didn't suspect a thing, even when she had to excuse herself and run to the restroom so she could puke into the disgusting toilet. They should have more D ranks to clean the public restrooms, she thought hysterically as Orochimaru's acid yellow eyes and brittle smile hovered in her mind's eye. The skin around her curse mark was red, irritated and flaking as she scratched at it, trying in vain to peel off the skin. Her fingernails were too short to do much damage. She wanted to talk to the Hokage again, demand more answers, demand involvement in the hunt, but she hadn't found an opportunity to corner him yet (and Anko was _very_ good at cornering people). Plus, her genin needed her.

And then her students were in the arena, and Orochimaru was pushed to the back of her mind. She watched Ino defeat a young kunoichi named Misumi with straightforward taijutsu and shrewd, sly words until the other genin slumped over, limbs akimbo, eyes blank, forfeiting under the control of the Yamanaka technique. She congratulated Sakura as her opponent was carted away on a stretcher, muscles spasming from poisonous gas.

"Sensei, sensei, did you see? Did you see? I did it, I won!" Sakura's face was as pink as her hair, flushed with pride and exertion. Anko grinned and ruffled her cotton-candy hair with a callused hand.

"Not bad, Pinky."

Sakura glowed. Ino rolled her eyes, muttering "I did it first," but had an arm draped around Sakura in a sort of one-armed hug and soon latched onto Anko as well. She squeezed them both, watching as Hinata's turn approached. A taller boy with long hair and similar blank, pearly eyes stepped into the arena. The nervous energy that had been twining through her, ever since the first hint of sibilant laughter echoed through the forest canopy, intensified.

Minutes later, she stared in horror as Hinata lay crumpled in the dirt, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth in a thin line, dripping into the sand.

* * *

Team Seven, along with Shikamaru, sat in a shadowed area near the arena stands, tucked into the corner of a walkway. Shino and Chouji slept on either side of Sasuke. None of them had fought in the preliminaries yet. Teams Seven, Eight, and Ten had passed the second stage of the exam. So had a Leaf team the year above them, the team with the strange spandex boy and the snobby Hyuuga boy. In total, eight teams had passed. Sasuke knew they were lucky to have even this short time to recuperate. His limbs were heavy with exhaustion and his head spun, but he gathered his remaining strength to glare at Shikamaru with the considerable righteous anger of an Uchiha, eyes spinning red and black.

"How did you know what to do? How did you know we'd be there, that that thing would be there? Were you following us? What do you know about it?" He demanded.

Shikamaru sighed, long and loud, his dark gaze weary but unreadable. He tipped his head back, staring at the ceiling as if he could see through it to the clouds floating overhead.

"This exam is too troublesome," he finally said, "and Naruto wouldn't leave it alone."

"I hate to admit it, but his nose might be even better than mine," Kiba admitted with a frown as he strolled over and sat down by Shikamaru, his dog sprawled over his legs. "But when he said something smelled weird, I had no idea we were going to run into that thing." He shuddered, then glanced at Sasuke with renewed interest. "What did it want, anyway? It looked like it was going to try to make out with you, or something. Like when it did that weird twisty thing with its neck while it was trying to cut us up with that sword."

Sasuke fought back a strong wave of nausea at that mental image. He was about to respond when Shikamaru elbows Kiba in the ribs.

"Shut up."

"What's up, losers!" Naruto flipped down from the stands with his characteristic pep. Sasuke wanted to blast the sunny energy right out of him with a well-placed katon jutsu, but he recalled the acrid smell of burning flesh from the clearing in the forest, and changed his mind.

"I gotta say, dude," Kiba was talking to Naruto, "how you tracked down that weird-ass snake man thing was pretty cool. How did you do that, anyway?"

The Inuzuka boy doubled over as Shikamaru elbowed him again, this time hard enough that Sasuke thought he heard the crack of at least one of Kiba's ribs. Naruto's face was taut with something Sasuke couldn't quite place his finger on ( _guilt? fear? anger?_ ). Shikamaru stood up and yanked Kiba to his feet, Akamaru whining in surprise. He turned and marched out of the room, holding Kiba by the elbow. Naruto swallowed, his face still chalk-like, and offered Sasuke a pale quirk of a smile.

"Well…I'm gonna go cheer Hinata on, if you wanna come, I guess." Naruto's invitation sounded agonizingly forced, like pulling teeth. Still, Sasuke remembered the striking change in the shy Hyuuga girl since graduation. His fingers brushed over the holes in his sleeve from where she had skewered it with a senbon after the first exam.

He found himself standing up, careful not to disturb Shino and Chouji from their slumber.

"Hn," he grunted. Naruto let out a surprised but pleased laugh, and he led Sasuke out into the sunlight.

* * *

Sakura and Ino sat in silence by Hinata's bed. She slept, a thin hospital blanket pulled up to her chin, covering the evidence of her participation in the preliminary exam: broken bones and bruised skin, shredded and torn and wrapped in bandages. The steady hum and beep of machines filled Sakura's ears, the faint smell of antiseptic tickling her nose.

"I'm not sorry." Ino spoke first, her hands clenched fists in her lap. "I'm not sorry we cheered Hinata on."

Sakura recalled of a pair of little girls on a playground, and the gift of a red ribbon.

"Your forehead might be huge but it's probably because you have a big brain, which means you must be really smart, and anyway you shouldn't let those bullies make you cry. I can kick them in the shins if you want! I'm gonna be a great kunoichi when I grow up, so I'm really good at kicking bullies!"

Ino always had a tendency to stick up for the underdog. A fierce swell of pride rushed through Sakura, for her best friend who looked ready to skin the Hyuuga boy alive.

"Me neither," she said.

They spent the next two hours plotting revenge against him, and arguing about what type of cookies to get Hinata as a get-well gift, and what color balloons they should get if they are putting purple blue flowers in her hospital room. The argument ground to a halt when Naruto burst through the door with a handful or orange balloons. Sakura socked him on the arm while Ino ranted about clashing colors.

* * *

"Look, Naruto, it's the same process as any other jutsu that uses hand seals. You have to concentrate and focus your chakra in a specific form and flow. Imagine it encasing the blade and flowing in a circular motion down the edge of the blade. Like this, see?"

Asuma's knives, laced with wind chakra, hummed slightly as he demonstrated his signature jutsu.

Naruto growled in frustration. "I don't get it! I mean, I get it, but whenever I try to do it, it doesn't work."

"I'm sure you'll get it eventually. Try again."

"I've been trying! We've been doing this all week and I'm not getting anywhere!"

Asuma sighed. "Ok, fine, take a break. Cool off and come back in an hour."

"Got it, sensei!" Naruto cheered up at the concept of an hour of freedom and bolted, hoping to run into Iruka-sensei near the academy since it was the hour school got out for the day and mooch a bowl of Ichiraku ramen off of him. _("What a coincidence you happened to be here at the same time as me, sensei!"_ )

He was so focused on his delicious goal that he almost missed the figure furtively hunched behind a wall of the women's bath house. Naruto skidded to a stop and peered closer. It was an older man with a wild mane of white hair, muttering to himself and scribbling in a battered notebook as he ogled the women in the bath house.

* * *

"Why don't you come out from behind that tree over there," Asuma called, as Naruto disappeared from the training ground.

Hinata poked her head around the trunk of a wide oak, timid with embarrassment at being caught.

"Naruto's just left, if you were hoping to talk to him."

Hinata turned tomato-red. "Um," she said, blushing furiously, shifting her weight from side to side, but made no move to leave.

Asuma wondered what she wanted. He thought maybe she was reluctant to go home. The girl was too shy for her own good, and after her humiliating defeat in the preliminaries her home life couldn't have been ideal. He sympathized, to an extent. He had not grown up in the Hyuuga clan, but being heir to the Sarutobi clan and the son of the Hokage came with its own set of burdens.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Her movements were ginger, but she gave him a shallow bow, as deep as her healing ribs would allow.

"I… I w-would like t-to ask you to t-teach m-me, p-please!"

* * *

"By the way, I heard you activated your Sharingan while I was gone awhile back," Kakashi said. "Congratulations."

Sasuke stared at him. What did the man expect him to say-'thank you'?

"How did it happen, exactly?"

"I was angry," Sasuke said after a moment, thinking of the illusion of Shino lying dead on the ground.

"Tell us something we don't know," Chouji muttered. Kakashi ignored him, fixing Sasuke with a single shrewd eye.

"Why were you angry?"

"Because you saw your dead team mate, right?" Kurenai asked, brow furrowed. "I don't see the point of questioning him like this. It's great that Sasuke discovered his ability, having the Sharingan is-"

"Hmmmm," Kakashi hummed, interrupting her.

There was a long pause.

"Well, that's it, right, Sasuke?" Chouji was confused.

"The Sharingan is obtained in moments of overwhelming suffering and death," Sasuke said flatly. "It is part of the Uchiha legacy of pain and slaughter."

Everyone stared at him for a long moment. Shino, stoic as ever, was the first to recover.

"You saw me dying, in the illusion, right?" he asked. "Doesn't that count?"

Sasuke tossed him a withering glare.

"Shino, Chouji…Kurenai…why don't you step outside for a moment?" Kakashi asked, pleasant tone at odds with the heavy atmosphere of the room, "I'd like to speak with Sasuke alone, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Kurenai shooed the genin out of the room, both of them glancing at Sasuke as they were herded out.

"I'll be frank with you," Kakashi said once they were gone, "I don't think this is the first time you've activated your Sharingan."

Seeing that Sasuke was not about to offer up any new information, Kakashi continued. "Let me tell you what I think, and you can tell me if I was wrong. Although" he tapped a finger thoughtfully against his masked chin, "I don't think I am. Kurenai said she used a variation of the Hell-Viewing Jutsu, a D-ranked jutsu. You would know it was an illusion immediately, and a weak one. You did not need a Sharingan to break that." He looked at Sasuke intently. "You said you were angry. I think you activated your Sharingan because you felt insulted."

Sasuke opened his mouth to deny it, but found he couldn't, because it was true. It had not been anger and grief that his teammate was dying, even in an illusion. It had been frustration that she thought so little of him, throwing that stupid, flimsy genjutsu at him and think it would work.

"And, as you implied earlier, this incident would not be enough to activate the Sharingan. "

"Wait a minute," Sasuke interrupted. "Why are you acting like you know so much about the Sharingan? You're not an Uchiha!"

"You're right, I'm not an Uchiha. Anyway, since you did use the Sharingan, you must have activated it in the past." He idly twirled a kunai with one hand, light from the window glinting off the sharp blade. "It's easy to put two and two together-you must have activated it four years ago."

Sasuke was unprepared for, yet unsurprised by, the wave of white-hot anger that washed over him when his sensei so casually referenced that night. That Night. The night that had changed his life irrevocably, marking him as an Avenger and shaping his future with the blood and death that defined his past.

"Well, anyway, now that you have the Sharingan," Kakashi continued, oblivious to Sasuke's dramatic inner monologue, "I can teach you how to use it. It will be good preparation for your upcoming match."

"You've already said you're not an Uchiha," Sasuke interrupted him, still simmering with rage. "So you can't teach me about the Sharingan. There's nothing you could teach me. And I don't want to learn from you anyway."

"Is that so?"

"I've asked Kurenai-sensei to train me. She is famous in Konoha as one of the strongest genjutsu users, and I have to learn from the best to kill-I mean, to beat the best."

"I see."

Kakashi seemed to sag against the wall. He always said his gray hair was hereditary, but he looked old, all of a sudden. Sasuke recalled the manners his mother had driven into him about respecting the elderly and he found himself saying,

"…Thank you for your offer." He bobbed his head in a strange sort of almost-bow. Kakashi shrugged, the barest movement of his shoulders, and Sasuke left. He didn't feel guilty about turning down his sensei's training offer, but it wasn't a comfortable refusal, either.

"What did he want to talk to you about?" Chouji asked when Sasuke stepped outside and found his teammates waiting for him.

"He offered to train me, but I turned him down."

"For the upcoming matches?" Shino asked.

"Yeah."

"Huh…I wonder what he's going to do all day?" Chouji mused. He and Shino had lost their matches and were still recovering. Kakashi had given them a huge list of assignments to review during their convalescence. They had gone straight to the library after being released from the hospital, to get a head start on what appeared to be about four months' worth of assigned readings, selections including (but not limited to): "The Art and Science of Material Selection in Weapon Design"; "Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical and Critical Study"; and "A Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine".

Sasuke shrugged. What Kakashi did in his spare time wasn't his problem. "He'll probably just lie around all day reading those trashy novels."

* * *

"Allow me to introduce-" Anko always sounded like she should be accompanied by a drum roll, for dramatic purposes- "Hatake Kakashi! One of the jonin of the Leaf Village, I believe you know his genin team-What were their names again-Kakashi, you've got the Uchiha brat, right?"

She turned to the man standing next to her, as his shoulders rose and fell in a disinterested shrug.

"You're Sasuke-kun's teacher?" Ino screeched, unable to control herself.

"Yo," the man waved.

"He's going to be your instructor for the final stage of the exams, Ino," Anko explained, "in addition to the clan training I know you'll be receiving."

Ino's eyes shone with barely-concealed excitement. She turned to Sakura, ready to gloat, but the pink-haired girl did not appear nearly as jealous as Ino expected.

"Ino," Sakura whispered, somewhat reluctant to burst her friend's bubble, "I met that guy in the bookstore, when he was buying like seven books of pure smut."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

"We'll start with a basic evaluation," Kakashi told her. Ino had screamed at him for 10 minutes straight when he showed up three hours late for their first training session, but he had taken it in stride. "Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu. Then I'll give you a bit of a quiz on mission planning, various strategies, basic interrogation techniques-"

"Interrogation techniques?" Ino asked. "I'm a Yamanaka." She regarded the tall man before her with some consternation, wondering if Forehead had been right after all about this man after all. "What can you teach me that I can't learn from my clan?"

The only visible sliver of his face crinkled into a strange eye-smile. "Well, as a Yamanaka, your clan is heavily involved with the T&I department in the village. Your clan jutsu allows you to enter another person's mind and control it."

"I know that," Ino interrupted, shifting her weight back and forth impatiently.

"So you know many of the more complex techniques. Those often yield higher returns since interrogators can shape the environment around their targets, and the targets' perception. Sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, soundproof walls, withholding food, long, complicated mind jutsu that require days to pull off-"

"So what?"

"Well, you won't be in the village all the time, in the comfort of T&I."

The comfort of T&I? He sounded like Anko, and that was enough for Ino to bite back the objections on the tip of her tongue.

"You were interested in learning medical ninjutsu, right?"

How does he know that?

Ino managed a small, wary nod.

"Well, think of things like a hospital - you have the specialist doctors, who focus on a specific aspect in great depth. You've also got the emergency doctors who deal with a wide range of patients and need the ability to assess and diagnose in the blink of an eye. Your clan is training you to be a specialist. I'll be training you for an emergency. In the field, you'll still need to gather information from enemy shinobi. It's true, you could use the Yamanaka clan jutsu, but it leaves you vulnerable to attack. And you won't have the luxury of your home turf and the unlimited resources of the department. You need to know how to break someone down and dissect their mind with minimal time, minimal resources, and minimal risk. You have to be efficient. That's where I come in. I've seen some stuff, done some stuff...you know how it goes."

 _No, I really, really don't_ , Ino thought with mounting panic.

"What does that have to do with winning my match in the exam? I don't have to get information from them or anything, so I don't see why-"

"Well, you never know. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Don't worry, you'll learn a lot." He reached out and patted her on the head with a gloved hand. "But we'll start that later; we've got a lot to get through today."


	14. Chapter 14

sorry this is 3 months late

thanks to everyone who reviews or favorites or follows the story, it's very encouraging!

let me know what you think of this chapter

(also, i'm still looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested) :)

* * *

Dogs were everywhere. Tiny puppies stumbled around on stubby paws, older dogs napped in the shade, and still others tore pell-mell through the streets and houses, the doors open to allow a steady stream of four-legged traffic.

Kiba skillfully navigated his way through the chaos, his clanspeople loud and boisterous as they went about their day, shouting and laughing mixed with the barking and baying of hounds. Naruto followed close behind, Shikamaru trailing him, as Kiba led them to a brightly painted home with cheery curtains in the window and the largest dog Naruto had ever seen standing by the doorway. Midnight black and the size of a horse, the hulking beast ignored Kiba, focusing its attention on his teammates. Akamaru yipped from his place at Kiba's side, bounding forward to engage the larger dog in a spirited tussle.

"Oi! Come back here!" Kiba made a grab for him but Akamaru nimbly dodged, tongue lolling. "Stop bothering Kuromaru!"

Kurumaru, the giant black dog, looked entirely unconcerned and padded forward to sniff at Shikamaru, and then Naruto. Its hackles rose and it growled, lips pulling back from sharp teeth. Naruto stood frozen.

"Knock it off, Kuromaru!" A stocky woman stood in the doorway. "You need to stop doing this every time the boys come over for dinner."

"Ehehe," Naruto sheepishly rubbed at that back of his head as Kuromaru appeared to shrug.

"Hey Mom, is the food ready?" Kiba asked, shoving his way past Kuromaru. Naruto and Shikamaru followed. Tsume good-naturedly slapped her son upside the head.

"What was that for?" he whined.

"Be patient, brat. Food'll be out once Hana gets back. She had to splint Akira's leg."

Kiba scowled.

"If you're going to have that attitude, you can lint roll the couch while you wait," his mother scolded. Naruto and Shikamaru watched in bemusement as their teammate accepted the proffered lint roller and set about cleaning the massive amount of dog hair that clung to every surface.

Naruto felt a sharp elbow to his side.

"Stop it with that goofy look," Shikamaru muttered. "You look like an idiot."

"Hey! I don't know what you're talking about." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and hissed in a low voice,

"Just don't act weird when his sister gets here, alright?"

The tips of Naruto's ears turned red as he realized what Shikamaru was implying.

He had been attending team dinners at the Inuzuka clan compound for a while now, and had developed a mild crush on Kiba's older sister Hana in that time. She was cheerful and funny, and smart, but she didn't try to hit him or say cruel things like Sakura used to do.

"I don't act weird around her," he muttered, lying through his teeth. So far, he had failed to have an actual conversation with her, reduced to a stuttering mess reminiscent of Hinata during her Academy days.

Shikamaru didn't dignify that with a response, merely sending him a significant glance as the object of his affections breezed through the front door, her three ninken hot on her heels.

"What have I told you about using shunshin in the house?" Tsume demanded, shaking a wooden spoon at her daughter.

Hanna grinned, waving at Shikamaru and Naruto.

"Hi guys!" "Hello," Shikamaru said.

All Naruto managed was an undignified squeak, which he turned into a cough. Hana peered at him, looking slightly concerned.

"Are you alright?" She asked, pulling a stethoscope out of the pocket of her flak jacket. "Do you need me to check your lungs?"

Naruto was saved from further embarrassment by an oblivious Kiba, wo threw himself down on the newly cleaned couch with a dramatic sign, complaining and comparing his mother to a slave-driver when she told him to set the table for dinner.

"Moooom," he whined, until Kuromaru dragged him into the kitchen by the leg of his pants.

"Can we help in any way?" Naruto asked, the smell of sizzling food making his empty stomach contract in hunger after a long day of training.

"You're such a suck-up," Kiba accused him, passing them a stack of plates.

"It smells amazing!" Naruto said, ignoring his grumbling teammate.

"You had like six bowls of ramen an hour ago!"

"Yeah, well, the old pervert through me off a cliff today so I had to use a lot of chakra to summon a giant toad to catch me."

"Ew, toads," Kiba grimaced. Hana punched him in the shoulder.

"Be nice," she admonished. "You're probably just jealous since you're not getting trained by a sannin."

"What? No!" Kiba protested. "Anyway, if they're all like the old toad pervert or the creepy snake pedophile that jumped Team 7 in the woods, I'll pass."

Tsume's mouth pressed into a thin line at the mention of Orochimaru, and for a moment the air inside the kitchen seemed denser, heavier, until she smiled again and announced,

"Dinner's ready! Come get it while it's hot!"

Shikamaru hung back as Kiba, Naruto, and Hana descended on the food like a trio of puppies themselves. In the ensuing rush to get some of the hot beef stew, Naruto couldn't remember a time when he'd felt as safe and as content as he did now.

* * *

Sakura reached for a third helping of salmon.

"Be sure to save some for the rest of us!" Kizashi chuckled.

Her father's joke fell flat. He took a large sip of sake. Sakura's mother was smiling, the curve of her lips carved from wood. Their neighbors blinked politely, if incredulously, at the amount of food one pink-haired twelve-year-old could consume.

"So, what's it like being a shinobi?" Ami asked, curious. "We saw your match in the exam! It must have been so exciting! What happened to that guy you beat? Do you spend a lot of time practicing fighting and stuff? How many fights have you been in before?"

Her older brother Daichi snickered.

"Manners!" Ami's mother whispered, nudging her daughter with an elbow. Everyone pretended not to see.

Sakura, for her part, merely chewed her food and said,

"I poisoned him with a nerve agent."

"Oh," Ami said, her voice small. Sakura smiled.

Kizashi took another large sip of sake.

"Why don't we have dessert?" Mebuki asked, desperately regretting the decision to host this party. It had been a night of stilted small talk and awkward silences, everyone (except Ami, apparently) tiptoeing around the elephant in the room: Sakura wasn't the same cute little girl-next-door they'd always known.

"Great idea," Akiko's eyes lit up. "Mayu has been working hard at the bakery and she has made a lovely cake for all of us. Why don't you go get it, dear?"

"That sounds delicious. Sakura, why don't you help clear the table," Mebuki suggested, further regretting providing any chance for Akiko to brag about her daughter.

Sakura began collecting everyone's plates, balancing the fine china effortlessly. Mebuki couldn't help but notice the palpable discomfort and unease of their guests; none of the civilians were used to the soundless, predatory movement of a trained shinobi. In comparison, Mayu's footsteps sounded heavy and ponderous as she carried the massive confection to the table. It was breathtaking, covered in delicate, spun sugar and swirls of whipped cream. Mebuki felt a stab of guilt as she wondered how different everything would be if Sakura came home covered in powdered sugar at the end of a long day, rather than bloodstains and dirt.

"It's a cheesecake!" Mayu explained. "I used lace as inspiration for the sugar decorations, which I made by caramelizing pink sugar-"

Her stocking-clad foot slipped on the polished wood floor.

Time froze as the entire party collectively registered the implications as the fluffy, dome-like dessert soared above their heads, only to land perfectly on a plate as Sakura balanced on one foot on top of the table, a pile of dirty dishes cradled in one arm and the other outstretched to catch the fat cheesecake, jiggling on its plate.

"Wow!" Ami chirped. "Nice save, Sakura!" Next to her, Daichi stared at the small scar on Sakura's knee, an inch from his nose.

"Thanks." Sakura said.

"I should be thanking you," Mayu replied, face red with embarrassment and relief, "you saved my cake."

"No problem." Sakura placed the cake down and hopped off the table to bring the dishes into the kitchen.

"My goodness," Ami's mother said with a nervous laugh, "I don't know what we'd have done without Sakura-chan. You must be so proud of your daughter, Mebuki-san."

"Yes, well, we are very proud of her, aren't we, dear."

"Oh, yes," Kizashi muttered, blinking owlishly. He'd had a few too many cups of sake over the course of the night and Mebuki had been planning the lecture she'd give him later, but she understood why he might have drunk rather more than normal, especially when Sakura reappeared next to Daichi, who jumped several inches.

"Here, I'll cut the cake," she said, and-to Mebuki's horror-pulled out a kunai. With decisive strokes that were too fast for the rest of the group to see, the cake was separated into ten equal slices.

"Th-thank you, Sakura-chan," Mayu's mother accepted a slice with hands that shook ever so slightly.

"Of course. I am sure everything will be delicious," Sakura replied with a demure nod, distributing the rest. Everyone thanked her, but nobody looked her in the eye.

Akiko, predictably, waxed poetic about her daughter's talent, describing in great detail the airy, springy texture and delicate, sophisticated flavor: honey and the slightest hint of almonds. Nobody paid the slightest attention.

"Do you dislike the cake, Ami?" Mayu asked, anxious. The other girl's dessert sat untouched.

"Oh, no, I'm sure it's delicious!" Ami shot a nervous glance at Sakura's left wrist, where the kunai was stashed up her sleeve after she had wiped it clean of cake remnants.

"I'll take it if you don't want it, Ami," Sakura said, nothing but crumbs left on her plate.

Ami slid her plate over, lips twitching in a nervous semblance of a smile.

"Of course, Sakura."

Mebuki chewed on a bite of cake mechanically. It tasted like cardboard on her tongue. Sakura had always been a polite child, if stubborn, but she had never been sensitive, always a bit oblivious; naïve and adorable. But now, that endearing self-absorption had been stripped away, and there was a hint of something else lurking behind every movement. Every assessing glance of jewel-green eyes, every little smile or small tilt of her head betrayed constant, cold calculation. She had always been smart, but now she channeled and applied that intelligence in ways Mebuki wasn't sure she wanted to understand. This was supposed to be-well, she hadn't expected this party to be that fun, but she certainly hadn't expected Sakura to frighten everyone.

It had started out as a simple sort of culture shock, for lack of a better term; civilian and shinobi lifestyles collided in a way that left everyone uncomfortable. And Sakura had made it worse, escalating her behavior until it was impossible to ignore. Mebuki didn't know why Sakura was acting that way, and it worried her that her own daughter was so unpredictable, so different.

Later, after their guests filed out the door, relieved to be leaving, she turned to find that Sakura had already disappeared into her bedroom. She sighed, and shared a long-suffering look with her husband. When Sakura was in the Academy, she received yearly progress reports, but once she graduated to genin, neither of her parents had met her new teacher. Well, that was about to change. It was past time to find out what was going on with their daughter.

* * *

Golden dust motes swirled in the rays of sunlight, illuminating rows of old books and scrolls that lined the walls of the library. Sasuke leaned back in his chair, balancing precariously on the back two legs. After his daily training with Kurenai, he had dropped by the library, ostensibly to work on the long list of of texts Kakashi had assigned them, but also enjoying his teammates' company. He couldn't deny the calming effect of their presence after spending most of his day questioning his reality and fending off mind-bending illusions. His nightmares had gotten worse lately, which he attributed to the grueling psychological and physical training. The only sound was the occasional whisper of a turning page, and the constant crunch of Chouji working his way through the junk food piled next to the stack of books on the table. Sasuke returned his attention to the book open in front of him, a dissertation written by the late second Hokage Senju Tobirama:

 _"If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared."_ (1)

Sasuke's thoughts turned to the vengeance he would one day wreak on _that man_ and he smiled grimly to himself.

"Sasuke, are you alright?"

Hi was jolted out of his murderous fantasy to find Chouji and Shino looking at him with some concern. (He assumed Shino was concerned; the Aburame's facial expressions were quite difficult to read, especially given that he was still wearing his sunglasses indoors.)

"I'm fine," Sasuke replied, closing the book.

His teammates didn't seem particularly convinced.

"I'm going to stretch my legs," he said, getting up from the table.

Wandering through the stacks, books and scrolls piled high on either side, Sasuke hunted idly for a scroll that might have some interesting jutsu, but found himself browsing political philosophy. He grabbed an old scroll at random and skimmed it. One sentence in particular caught his attention, and Sasuke started to read further when a quiet yelp startled him. He turned to see Hinata standing in the adjacent Poetry section, disappear under a flurry of paper as books and scrolls dislodged from their shelf.

She was leaning on crutches and it looked like the avalanche of paper was going to knock her over. Sasuke hurried over and steadied her.

"I didn't realize you were out of the hospital yet," he found himself saying.

Since when did he initiate conversation?

It must be the poetry, it was putting him on edge. As a child, his mother had tried to instill an appreciation for poetry in both of her children, but Sasuke had never been interested in it, unlike-

"Yes, well," Hinata interrupted his thoughts, her voice a thin thread of sound. Sasuke had to lean closer to hear her. "I got out a few days ago, but I was at my clan compound resting after that. I-I'm not really supposed to leave there right now but I ran out of things to do, so I thought I'd come pick up a book."

Her shoulders hunched. Sasuke didn't need the Sharingan to tell that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Hn," he grunted. Sasuke didn't know why he was still standing there. Before the preliminary, he'd been concerned about falling behind his peers, especially in the light of Hinata's apparent progress as a kunoichi. If she was getting stronger, then he should be improving twice as fast; but her resounding defeat in the preliminaries had given him pause. He'd felt angry, almost scared, staring at her broken body on the floor of the arena. A vision flashed through his mind: he on the ground, not Hinata, and instead of her cousin, it was _him_ , with his red eyes like crimson pools of blood in the hollows of his eye sockets-

"Why are you here, I-I mean, a-at the library?" Hinata asked as she bent down, laboriously, to pick up some of the fallen scrolls. Sasuke stooped to help her.

"I'm here with my team," he said, and left it at that. "Which book are you looking for?"

"Ah, not one in particular," Hinata hesitated. "I was just going to look through and pick one that seemed interesting."

An open scroll caught Sasuke's eye. He picked it up, a chill creeping down his spine as he read the poem:

 _"The son enters the mother's room_

 _and stands by the bed where the mother lies._

 _The son believes that she wants to tell him_

 _what he longs to hear-that he is her boy,_

 _always her boy. The son leans down to kiss_

 _the mother's lips, but her lips are cold._

 _The burial of feelings has begun. The son_

 _touches the mother's hands one last time,_

 _then turns and sees the moon's full face._

 _An ashen light falls across the floor._

 _If the moon could speak, what would it say?_

 _If the moon could speak, it would say nothing."_ (2)

The moon, silent and impossibly large, looming over the compound that stank of death, reflected in crimson puddles that soaked the ground. Sasuke's parents lying slumped, lifeless, and he watched as _that man_ slaughtered them, all of them, over and over. His mother's silky, night-dark hair splattered with gore, her palms upturned, hands open and empty.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata was looking up at him, eyebrows drawn in a concerned frown.

He blinked, forcing back the mental images and deftly rolling up the scroll. Kurenai's genjutsu lessons were useful, but exhausting, and he wondered if the stress of untangling illusions was drawing his nightmares out of the dark. Maybe tomorrow he should ask to learn a new ninjutsu, instead.

"Can I help you carry anything?" he asked, thankful that Hinata didn't say anything else. She merely nodded and gestured to a a book at her feet. Sasuke picked it up.

"Thank you," she said. "I couldn't carry all of them at once."

He realized she was already carrying three scrolls, somehow keeping ahold of them and still using her crutches. He took those, too, noting that they were technical scrolls on weaponry and channeling chakra, and the third on medical jutsu. An interesting selection for a recovering shinobi who was basically under house arrest, he thought, mildly amused. He followed behind her as she headed to the checkout desk, much more surefooted now that she was no longer attempting to carry everything.

"Thank you again, Sasuke-kun," Hinata bowed, the borrowed reading materials in a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hn." "I must get going," she said with another slight bow. Sasuke watched as she headed towards the Hyuuga compound, and then to his surprise slid into a side alley. Curiosity piqued, he followed on the rooftop, just in time to see a man, likely around Kakashi's age or a few years older, emerge from the shadows. He wore a typical Konoha flak jacket and a bandana, a senbon perched between his teeth. Sasuke stared as Hinata fished on her bag and handed him the book of poetry he had helped her carry. What was she doing? He leaned forward and the older shinobi glanced right at him.

Sasuke froze, realizing he'd been discovered. For a split second, he considered dropping down into the alleyway and demanding to know what was going on, but just as quickly decided against it and moved back in the direction of the library. What Hinata did in her spare time wasn't any of his business, anyway.

* * *

Hinata sat on the old swing in the Academy playground, her crutches leaning against a nearby tree. The soft night breeze caressed her face and the crickets chirped nearby. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to calm down. Her father's face, twisted with fury, flashed through her mind's eye; Hanabi staring at her with eyes as brittle as their father's, watching Hinata cry, further proving their point: she was weak, and too shy, and too emotional…

She squeezed her eyes shut, hard, until stars danced behind her eyelids. She had just wanted to get out of the compound. After their argument, the tense atmosphere had made trying to sleep unbearable, and she'd ended up here.

She was a disgrace to the clan name. She didn't know who to turn to. The problem was finding someone who wouldn't ask any questions, and who wouldn't wind up in her father's warpath. She was so tired, a sort of bone-deep exhaustion that followed on the heels of panic.

"What are you doing out here, all alone, so late?"

Hinata leaped off the swing, landing in a defensive Gentle Fist stance and activating her Byakugan. She cursed herself for not paying attention to her surroundings. Her father was right. She couldn't even tell what village the mysterious shinobi was from. Useless.

"W-what do you want?" She tried to sound demanding, channeling an alter-ego that bore a suspicious resemblance to an a combination of Ino and Sasuke, but she stuttered.

The shinobi chuckled, a revolting sound like wet paper disintegrating, and took a step closer.

"D-don't come any closer!" Hinata squeaked.

"Now, now, dear, what is a precious child like you, the Hyuuga heiress, doing out here, by yourself, in the middle of the night?"

An ominous feeling curled in the pit of Hinata's stomach. The shinobi's eyes glinted yellow in the moonlight.

"Stay back," she warned. "My father will be here any minute-"

The stranger chuckled.

"I doubt it. Not after that spectacle in the preliminary exams. Say, you're one of her students, aren't you?"

Hinata tried to step back but found herself unable to move. The air was heavy with malicious intent and rooted her feet to the ground.

"I was going to go for the Uchiha boy," the stranger mused, "I've always been fascinated by the Sharingan. But he was lucky, and I missed my chance. He's surrounded by ANBU and I can't take them out without jeopardizing everything. I suppose you'll have to do. After all, my little former student seems to think you have some promise."

Hinata tried to scream but didn't make a sound as the stranger seemed to melt, impossibly long tongue flicking out to lick her clavicle. She collapsed in blinding pain as the brand seared through her, the inky swirl of the curse mark stamped into her pale skin.

Orochimaru smiled in perverse satisfaction, his skin stretching to accommodate his too-wide grin, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.


	15. Chapter 15

**note:**

 **thanks so much to everyone who left a review, follow, or favorite on this story! i love reviews but i don't know how to respond to them yet, so sorry about that, i'm working on it since it is apparently a thing you can do!? who knew.**

 **i realized i've now been working on this story for a whole year which is WILD.**

 **anyway, here is the continuation of the chunin exams! let me know what you think!**

 **also HUGE HUGE thank you to hypereuni who read my rambling, caffeine-fueled mess of a draft and gave me awesome suggestions. check out her stories if you haven't already, they're fantastic!**

* * *

Mebuki's stomach churned as she watched Ino frantically dodge her opponent. She didn't really understand what was happening, as they were moving too fast to follow, but she could tell it wasn't good.

She remembered Ino as a young girl, when Sakura would invite her over to play with dolls and dress up like princesses. Ino didn't look that much older, down there in the ring. Her ponytail shone in the sun as she fended off another attack from her opponent's puppets. Mebuki thought he seemed awfully sinister to be participating in a tournament for children to showcase what they'd learned.

"Sorry, excuse me-" A broad-shouldered man obstructed Mebuki's view, towing his small child who looked to be on the verge of a temper tantrum. Impatient, Mebuki craned her neck trying to see around him as the crowd erupted in cheers.

In the ring, Ino's opponent was suspended in mid-air by ninja wire, which wrapped around his neck, wrists, elbows, thighs, and ankles. His puppet was similarly trapped. The boy flailed, limbs spread-eagled. Mebuki's breath hitched as one of the wires snapped. Before he could free himself, however, he slumped over ( _like a puppet with the strings cut_ , Mebuki thought ironically) and then turned to the exam proctor in a mechanical motion. Ino stood next to him, her hands clasped in a seal, wearing a look of stubborn concentration that Mebuki recalled from Ino's childhood arguments with Sakura.

"I- don't let her-" Ino's opponent gasped, the sound carrying into the stands.

"What was that?" The exam proctor took a step forward, then halted as the boy visibly flinched.

"She-I won't-Get out of my mind, you Leaf bitch-"

The ninja wires tightened, wrenching the boy's shoulders back and digging grooves in his wrists and ankles. A strangled noise of pain escaped him. The puppet cracked as the wires were pulled taut. The proctor glanced between Ino and her opponent. Her stare was vacant and she was swaying on her feet, button nose wrinkling in concentration as she changed the hand sign ever so slightly. The proctor raised an eyebrow, recognizing the technique, as the boy from Sand went rigid, face draining of color, his purple tattoos stark against his pale face.

"I FORFEIT!" He screamed, limbs jerking in reflexive terror. Ino glanced at the proctor before letting her hands fall to her sides, releasing her hold on her opponent. She bowed slightly and turned her attention to the stands, frowning.

"That's Sakura's friend, right?" Kizashi asked absentmindedly, munching on a spicy rice cracker.

"Yes, that's Ino," Mebuki responded, distracted as she realized why Ino looked so preoccupied despite winning her match. The blonde girl was staring at an empty stretch of stands where Team Anko should be sitting. Where was Sakura?

"I'm going to use the bathroom, honey. I'll be right back." She maneuvered around her husband.

"Okay. Can you grab me a beer?"

"Mm," Mebuki responded, wondering why Sakura hadn't watched her friend's match.

She ducked into the stadium hallway, bypassing the bathrooms completely. She tried to look like she had a purpose as she navigated towards the shinobi section of the stadium before she was stopped by a pair of Leaf shinobi.

"Ma'am, the civilian section is back that way." One of them said. They looked only a few years older than Sakura.

"Ah…yes, right." Mebuki swallowed her disappointment and smiled wanly at them as they moved to escort her back to the other side of the stadium.

Suddenly, she caught a flash of pink hair turning around the corner.

"Wait!"

* * *

Anko was not in the mood for this. As the civilian woman began to move towards them, Anko pinned the woman to the wall with the business end of a kunai pointed a millimeter from her jugular.

"Move and you're dead."

"Sensei!" Sakura looked like she wanted to melt into the floor in a strange combination of alarm and embarrassment. "That's my mom! Please let her go!"

The civilian was trembling so hard she almost impaled herself. Anko snorted in disgust and released her. Mopping up gallons of blood that the woman would spill if she bled out on the floor was the last thing Anko wanted to deal with right now.

The woman took a shuddering breath, propping herself up against the wall on shaking legs.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, taking a cautious step forward.

"I-I c-came to find you. I w-wanted to wish you good luck."

Anko rolled her eyes and threw the kunai into the wall an inch from Mebuki's head. She knew exactly who the woman was, having skimmed the files of each of her genin when she'd been assigned their team. However, something didn't quite add up here, and with everything going to hell in a handbasket lately she wasn't about to take chances.

"Stop lying."

"I-I d-don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, I'm a senior interrogator who eats enemy shinobi for breakfast, and you think your lame-ass bullshit will fool me? I'll ask you one more time, what do you want?" She pulled out another kunai and took a step forward.

"Sensei! It's my mother!" Sakura grabbed Anko's wrist, trying to pull her away from Mebuki.

"Tsk." Anko stepped back and lowered her weapon, shaking off Sakura's grip. "You two!" She barked at the pair of chunin who stood open-mouthed a safe distance away. "Escort the civilian back to the fan section. Don't let me catch you slacking again. You'd both be fucked if this was a real security threat."

The two jumped to attention and saluted multiple times before grabbing Mebuki and steering her away.

Muffled cheers filtered through the thick stone walls as the crowd worked itself into a frenzy outside.

"Come on, Sakura," Anko snapped, already mentally kicking herself for letting her fraying nerves get the best of her. Sakura, who had been watching her mother disappear around the corner, turned towards her teacher and nodded, her green eyes as hard as jade.

"Sensei!" Ino sprinted towards them, blue eyes wide with worry.

"Ino-Pig! What is it?"

"Shut up, Forehead, this is important. And I won, by the way."

Anko rolled her eyes. "Come on brat, spit it out!"

"Not here," Ino whispered, glancing around the empty hallway.

"Sakura, go get ready for your match. We'll be right there." Anko pulled Ino into the closest restroom.

"What is it?" She hissed.

"The Kazekage is going to attack the village," Ino said. "And he's gonna use the creepy redhead boy who's gonna kill everyone somehow!"

"Hold on-what? Start at the beginning."

Anko's head spun as she listened to Ino explain. She could feel the beginnings of a killer headache wrapping around the base of her skull to her temples. Every time she thought something couldn't get worse, it did.

"I used mind-transfer jutsu on the puppet boy from Sand who I was fighting and when I was in his head I used a backdoor trick that I practiced with Kakashi-sensei and I learned that his greatest fear is his little brother-this guy has a lot of family issues, by the way,-and he's actually some kind of raccoon monster or something that kills people and stuff and apparently they're gonna unleash him to destroy the village!" Ino finished. She looked up at Anko, waiting for an answer.

Anko didn't have one.

First Orochimaru, now this? From the sound of it, the Sand village was planning to attack with their jinchuriki. The Hokage had thought this might happen, but now…

"Good job, Ino. I need you to find the Jonin Commander and tell him everything you just told me."

"Shikamaru's dad? Got it!"

Anko felt a rush of fond pride as her student ran off.

She headed in the other direction, towards the VIP section of the arena. With Ino notifying the Jonin Commander, it was left to her to notify the Hokage. However, before she could reach him, she was stopped short of the kages' booth by two ANBU members. She could see the tip of the Hokage's hat behind the hulking shoulders of the one in the monkey mask.

"I need to speak to Hokage-sama right now." She tried to push past them. "I don't have time for this."

"Make time," the falcon mask said.

* * *

Sakura passed Sasuke on the way to the arena. He had just finished his match, beating a Leaf genin a few years older than them. At any other point, Sakura would probably have stopped to congratulate him and ogle his abs through his ripped shirt, but she barely spared him a glance as she walked by.

She stepped out onto the stage, feeling the eyes of the crowd and the heat of the sun like a warm embrace, until she looked up and met her opponent's frozen stare. Her nerves sang with anticipation and terror. Her muscles tensed in anticipation of violence.

"You may begin."

Sakura wasted no time. She shot forward, racing towards Gaara, only to be met with a sand clone. When she tried to punch it, sand began to flow around her wrist and pull her closer, so she loaded chakra in her other fist and blew it apart with a left hook.

Her taijutsu in the Academy had been mediocre at best. She followed the given forms perfectly but had little inclination for creativity and no strength at all due to her constant dieting and fear of being too bulky for Sasuke's liking. She still wasn't on the same level as Sasuke's taijutsu, and couldn't hold a candle to Rock Lee, but she had spent the last month training with Anko who had devised a brutal schedule to increase her speed, strength, and stamina. Lee's bout with Gaara in the preliminaries had shown the effectiveness of hand-to-hand against the ghostly Sand boy, and with Sakura's near-perfect chakra control, she was able to augment her strength and agility.

Sakura spent the next five minutes dodging crashing waves and sharp spikes of sand. She dispelled another sand clone with a kick to the stomach but had yet to land a hit on Gaara himself, who stood still and stared at her with his creepy eyes.

She had always been competitive; she needed the best grades, the best boy (Sasuke, of course), the cutest clothes, the best hair. Winning and succeeding in the tournament was no different and she felt the haze she'd been in for months, ever since the disastrous C-rank mission, lift, replaced with a thrilling clarity as she continued to leap around the arena, ignoring the burning fatigue of her muscles and the pain from what was likely a couple of cracked ribs where she'd been too slow to dodge the sand.

Gaara looked at her, his pale eyes narrowed with malice. He formed a hand seal, the first he had made so far. A dome of sand ensconced him and Sakura barely dodged as sand whips flew from the earthen sphere, one tendril catching her left elbow.

She screamed as the bone shattered, biting her tongue at the sudden pain. She spat out the blood that pooled in her mouth and twisted free, racing up the opposite wall of the arena.

Her arm hanging useless, Sakura used her other hand to pull out a scroll. She unfurled it with a flick of her wrist as she turned and ran back down, chakra sticking her feet to the vertical surface and propelling her faster and faster. The figures in the crowd blurred as she leaped and the sealing scroll opened, dumping concentrated hydrofluoric acid on the sand dome.

She might not have the physical abilities required to beat him, but she had always been good at school and she had paid attention during Iruka-sensei's chemistry lessons.

There was an unearthly scream as the acid ate through the dome.

She landed a safe distance away, wincing as her arm was jarred. She grabbed her second scroll of acid and held it at the ready as she watched her opponent.

Puddles of acid dripped as the sand melted. Gaara's breathing was heavy and strained, through flared nostrils and gritted teeth. He looked shocked, staring at his injuries in disbelief. Sakura saw the white glint of bone where a large splash of acid had burned through his shoulder. Liquid the same rusty color as his hair was spreading through the material of his shirt, along the left side of his chest. There were ragged gaps in his bloody robes where the acid had splattered onto his legs. She watched as his pupils seemed to shrink to pinpricks, the bloodshot sclera visible all around the irises of his bulging eyes. A vein pulsed in his forehead. It seemed like a switch had been pulled; he had been intimidating before, almost inhuman, but the empty stare he directed at her now was absolutely terrifying. Sakura tried to ignore the shiver that raced down her spine and tensed, holding the scroll in front of her like a warning.

A trio of Sand ninja, who Sakura recognized as the jonin Baki and his other students, appeared in front of Gaara. They appeared to be having a tense discussion as blood and killing intent continued to leak from Gaara in ever-greater amounts. She heard snatches of their hushed conversation.

"-injuries are too serious to be useful-"

"-the next phase-"

"-take him-"

Sakura was thoroughly confused and fighting back mounting panic when she felt a strange ripple of chakra. She disrupted it without a second thought, only to see ninja and civilians alike slump over in the stands. Alarm flashed through her. Were they all dead? What was going on? There was a loud bang and smoke began pouring from the kages' box seat. She flinched as Baki and his team, including Gaara, disappeared in a gust of wind, sending sand in all directions. Sakura brought up her arm to protect her stinging eyes.

The momentary lull that had accompanied whatever jutsu had caused most people to fall unconscious was broken as Leaf jonin clashed with enemy ninja, who appeared to be from both the Sound and Sand villages.

"Haruno!" The proctor approached her. "Konoha is under attack. Disrupt the genjutsu and wake as many ninja as you can, prioritizing higher ranking. Don't engage the enemy. Help your fellow genin get to safety. You know standard evacuation protocol?"

Sakura's mouth felt dry and she barely managed to mumble an affirmative. Her adrenaline from her match seemed to have doubled, and her fingers were starting to shake. She ruthlessly forced away thoughts of her parents, or of Ino, Hinata, and Anko, and ran towards the closest stands, nearly smacking into Sasuke. His red eyes were spinning feverishly as he shoved her out of the way of a stray earth jutsu.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"Attack-we've got to get everyone out of the genjutsu going from chunin to-"

"Hn."

Sasuke reached down and zapped the nearest slumbering Leaf ninja with chakra, a chunin who snapped awake with a disoriented "Huh?"

"Attack," Sakura repeated. "Mobilize."

Understanding dawned in the chunin's eyes and the man nodded, immediately turning to wake the others around him. "We'll wake and organize the rest. You two go help escort the civilians to safety."

Sasuke's mouth was a thin line of dissatisfaction.

"I need to find my team," he disagreed.

"Look, we don't have time to argue." The chunin interrupted, his chest puffing up in self-importance. "If your team is caught in the genjutsu here, we'll wake them and they can help the civilians too. You're genin, you'll be most helpful there. I'll pull rank if I have to."

Sasuke's crimson eyes flashed, a stubborn look that Sakura recognized from when Naruto used to annoy him in the Academy.

"We saw through the genjutsu when you didn't."

Normally Sakura would be jumping up and down in happiness that he'd included her, but instead she grabbed both him and the chunin and yanked them out of the way as an exploding tag detonated overhead, showering debris down around them.

"We can more easily regroup with our teams here," Sasuke continued to argue.

The chunin opened his mouth to respond when the earth below his feet cracked open, a Sand ninja looming behind them, clearly meaning to crush them below ground-

Only for a lean, silver-haired Leaf jonin to appear from the ground as well, lightning chirping in his fist as he drove his arm through the enemy's chest with a sickening squelch.

"Sensei?" Sasuke's face was open with surprise, blood spatters freckling his alabaster skin. Kakashi turned and Sakura gasped at the red, spinning wheel of his left eye, the other cold and grey and hard as granite.

"Sharingan?" Sasuke's voice was a whisper.

He looked like he wanted to say more but Kakashi cut him off.

"Sasuke, find Chouji and Shino and then see if you can find the other genin. Dispel the genjutsu for anyone you come across." He caught a kunai and threw it back, impaling a Sound ninja in the eye.

"You…" he glanced at Sakura, clearly at a loss as to what her name was.

"Sakura," she supplied .

"Sakura," his fist blazed with blue light as he blasted two more shinobi. "You help. And uh, you too." He shoved the chunin out of the way, cutting off whatever the other had been about to say, and slit an enemy's throat. Sasuke shot a thin, victorious smirk at the chunin. The pile of bodies around the small group was growing and Sakura tried not to gag at the overwhelming, metallic scent of blood. She used this moment to grab Sasuke's hand and pull him towards the stands. He was clearly still agitated and kept glancing back towards Kakashi, who was a blur of crackling lightning behind them.

The chunin, his vest singed where another exploding tag had come a little too close for comfort, came stumbling after them.

"I'm Hikaru," he told them. "I guess I'm coming with you." The tips of his ears were red and Sakura was amazed he had found the energy to be embarrassed, considering the situation at hand.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, speeding forward. If it had been anyone else, Sakura would have thought he was being petty, but monosyllabic grunting was not uncommon for the stoic Uchiha. Surely he had more sense than to dwell on frivolities while people were attacking them. She let fly a poisoned kunai that embedded itself in a Sound ninja's thigh.

"Sasuke! Sakura!"

Sasuke had found his teammates somehow among the chaos, and Chouji was looking at her with friendly concern. Her left arm hung at an odd angle and she wrapped her fingers around another kunai to keep her hand from shaking. Shino adjusted his glasses and bugs streamed out of his sleeves, navigating through the rubble.

"My bugs will look for your teammates."

Sakura blinked, overcome with gratitude for Sasuke's well-meaning teammates: Chouji, who clearly had more emotional awareness in his pinky finger than Sasuke did in his whole body, and Shino, who was dependable in his own quiet, mildly unsettling way.

"Thanks, guys."

"Can we get a move on?" Hikaru grunted as he dodged a flurry of shuriken.

"Shut up."

For the past several months Sakura had been trying to ignore her crush and focus on becoming a powerful shinobi in her own right, but as Sasuke glared at the chunin, she felt a rush of affection fo the proud Uchiha.

They made their way to the edge of the arena, where a large group of civilians pushed towards the exit. Sakura couldn't help scan the crowd for her parents, but didn't see them anywhere.

A giant snake summons appeared, breaking a huge section of the wall. Stone rained down and the five young shinobi sprinted forward, pulling screaming civilians out of the way as fast as they could. Sakura grabbed an elderly man and carried him through the exit, handing him off to an older chunin who was manning the evacuation line.

"Thank you, young miss!" He grinned at her toothlessly, but Sakura had already turned back. A strange, purple dome had appeared at the other end of the battlefield, and Sakura stared as it vaporized a Leaf ANBU who tried to enter.

"Sakura!"

It was Anko, flanked by two teams of ANBU, and Sakura had never been more grateful to see her sensei. One of the ANBU made a curious hand sign and a tree suddenly sprouted from the debris, spearing the thrashing giant snake.

"Sakura, go find Hinata." Anko said, as one of the ANBU moved forward to take an old woman with a head wound from Hikaru, who had awkwardly been trying and failing to stop the bleeding. The chunin looked very confused.

"Who's Hinata?"

"My colony tells me she is located in the southwest quadrant of the village." Shino said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. One lens had been cracked in the commotion. No further words were needed and Sakura and Team 7 made their way through the exit, Hikaru bringing up the rear.

Shinobi clashed everywhere, and the civilian evacuation line seemed never-ending as they were shepherded away from the pandemonium. Storefronts were smashed and blood stained the streets. The violence had long since spread from the arena, a wild storm expanding from the epicenter, and Sakura briefly wondered if her house was still intact. Behind them, the ANBU were dispatching Sound and Sand ninja alike with ruthless efficiency. Anko looked like a terrible goddess of war as snakes slithered from the sleeves of her bloodstained coat, writhing with bloodlust as they clashed with a team of Sound ninja.

"Ino!" Chouji called, waving frantically. Sakura's heart skipped a beat and she almost cried with joy as Ino shoved away the corpse of an unlucky Leaf ninja, relief stamped all over her features, and fell into formation with them, Sakura on one side of her and Chouji on the other.

"We're going to find Hinata."

Ino only nodded.

"I just hope we're not too late."


	16. Chapter 16

**author's note:** WHEW IT'S BEEN A WHILE. Sorry to everyone that it's been FOUR MONTHS since I last updated, life has been insanely busy, plus I write at a snail's pace. I will try to get the next chapter up in a more reasonable time frame! Thank you to every reader, especially the ones who follow/favorite/leave a comment! I always love reading everyone's comments :) hope that you are all doing well!

* * *

Hinata pushed at her temples with delicate fingertips, unable to relieve her throbbing headache. She allowed herself a small sigh before schooling her expression into the standard impassive Hyuuga stare. The suppression seal on her curse mark itched. It _absolutely sucked,_ to use a phrase Ino was fond of.

The Sandaime's benign smile flashed in her mind's eye. He had told her there was nothing to worry about, that they'd take care of everything, and despite herself she had wanted to believe him. She had been so willing to place her trust in him that she had let them lock her in this awful windowless room, deep underground, guarded by a squad of faceless ANBU. Her father had not objected. He had never even looked at her.

Despite their different attitudes, her father and the Hokage had both treated her the same way. She couldn't decide what was worse: the blatant games of favoritism of her clan, or the Hokage's subtler pretense of civilized justice. In the end, the members of the clan and the members of the village were nothing more than pieces on a shogi board. She was a pawn like the rest.

Hiashi enforced the iron rules of the clan without remorse. He listened to the elders and followed clan law as it had been followed for generations. The Hokage followed time-honored customs as well, lending an ear to various councils of clans, elders, and civilians. He oversaw the village with the air of a kindly octogenarian-one who happened to be nicknamed "the God of Shinobi", capable of ferreting out spies and foiling assassination attempts. Both were complicated political positions, requiring a ruthless and cunning mind. There were more similarities between the two offices than Hinata felt comfortable admitting.

"You alright?" The ANBU on guard, whom Hinata had mentally nicknamed "Cat" due to her animal mask, turned toward her. The fluorescent light of the underground bunker reflected off of her white mask and armor, the tattoo on her upper arm a dark swirl of burgundy.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you sure-"

Any subsequent questioning was interrupted as a shock ran through the building, jostling both kunoichi. Dust rained from the ceiling.

"What was that?" the ANBU seemed to ask herself, inspecting the newly formed cracks in the walls and ceiling.

Hinata's headache intensified.

The room shook again. The lights flickered.

"Shit," Cat cursed under her breath as the floor buckled. She made her way to the door, rapping on the reinforced steel with armor-plated knuckles. "Leopard! Report! What's happening out there?"

Silence.

"Shit," Cat cursed again.

The room plunged into darkness. Hinata shifted until she felt the anchoring presence of the cool stone wall at her back. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to stay calm. The guards had temporarily sealed her Byakugan on the way to the underground room, but the seal had worn off. Activating her bloodline limit, she could see the person-shaped constellation of tiny, bright chakra points that made up Cat's tenketsu system, hovering near the doorway. She couldn't see any of the other ANBU out in the hallway, except-

"There are seven people moving this way."

"Yeah," Cat agreed. "Not our people, unfortunately." Hinata did not have a chance to ask how the agent knew, as the woman continued, "Okay, kid, here's what we're going to do. There's too many of them for both of us to escape-they're all high chunin or even jonin level. We're going to swap our clothing, right now. Then when they arrive, we strike. You slip through, disguised as me. I allow myself to be captured. They'll think I'm you. This way, you've got a chance."

Hinata was bewildered. Why would anyone willingly sacrifice themselves for her, the clan failure who at this rate was going to be an eternal genin? After all, both her father and the Hokage had felt she was better off wasting away in this underground cage.

"But-"

"No arguing. That's an order, Hyuuga." Cat snapped. "This should buy you enough time to find someone and alert Lord Hokage of an attack. Understood?"

Hinata nodded, then realized the ANBU probably couldn't see her in the dark. She managed to squeak a pathetic-sounding affirmative, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Cat thought she warranted saving.

"They're almost here." Cat warned. "We've got to get ready."

Hinata undressed and dressed again, the unfamiliar weight of the ANBU armor chafing against the curse mark on her collarbone. She clutched Cat's katana and peered through the eye slits of the ANBU mask. Even with the Byakugan active, the limited peripheral vision was jarring at first.

"Now!" Cat hissed.

The door slammed open, steel crumpling like paper. The group of enemies rushed inside, unprepared for the two Leaf kunoichi who sprinted straight at them, steps unerring despite the dark.

Hinata clumsily slashed one with the katana, but it seemed to do the trick because his chakra dimmed considerably. Nearby, Cat efficiently stabbed one in the gut and slit the throat of a second. Hinata realized that the two of them had an advantage over the enemy. She could see everything relatively well due to her Byakugan. Cat must have some sort of sensing ability since she wielded her weapons with awe-inspiring precision in the total darkness.

With somewhat renewed confidence, Hinata thrust the katana at a second shinobi, catching them in the stomach and pulling the blade up and out. She was about to suggest they try to escape together, since the odds were better than she could have hoped, when another tremor shook the room. Hinata tripped over the body of the ninja she had just killed, landing in the hallway as the ceiling caved in and sealed off the doorway.

Coughing from the thick clouds of dust, the walls rumbling ominously, she picked a direction at random and sprinted.

* * *

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, although in this case the phrase didn't seem quite accurate. He dodged a falling tree as the giant raccoon, a slumbering Gaara at its head, battled a giant fox (which minutes ago had been a giant frog) commanded by Naruto. Temari, the Sand genin who was also present, seemed to be experiencing a similar train of thought regarding the dangerous nature of the situation. She clutched her fan with white knuckles, balancing on the balls of her feet and ready to attack, but stood and stared as a giant tentacle of sand erupted from the raccoon beast and flew towards them. Shikamaru quickly stepped on the dappled shadows provided by the forest canopy, connecting to her shadow and yanking her out of harm's way.

"What-" She tried to escape his control but Shikamaru continued the jutsu, forcing her to open her fan and deflect another barrage of sand. He maneuvered her in front of him, a sort of living shield in case the two hulking monsters escalated things further.

"Who do you think you are?" Temari demanded, still trying to escape. She may have been distracted by the fight between Gaara and Naruto earlier, but if Shikamaru let her go now she would head straight for him. "Let me go! You have no idea what's going on?"

"I know your younger brother over there is the ichibi jinchuriki of the Sand Village. He's lost control and is currently being held at bay by my teammate Naruto, who happens to be the kyuubi jinchuriki of the Leaf Village." Shikamaru jumped out of the way of a large branch that spiraled through the air, "If I recall correctly, nine tails is better than one."

When Temari let out a disbelieving snort, he released the shadow jutsu and tackled her before she had a chance to react, pinning her to the ground and holding a kunai to her throat.

A crash resounded through the forest, trees shattering into foot-long splinters. Both genin looked up at the same time to see the monsters collide in a whirl of gnashing teeth and claws.

"Well, this doesn't seem safe anymore," Temari observed, a sliver of dry humor lacing her voice. Shikamaru chucked in spite of himself. He wondered if they were both in shock.

"IDIOT RACOON!" An inhuman roar from the fox, now reverted to the frog.

"DIE!" The racoon screeched.

The two titans clashed together again, Naruto seizing Gaara by the shoulders and delivering a wild headbutt.

Both onlookers squeezed their eyes shut as the raccoon monster dissolved into a flurry of sand, and the frog dispersed in a large cloud of smoke.

As the air cleared, Naruto and Gaara, foreheads bloody, gasped for breath as they lay among the trampled undergrowth and broken trees.

* * *

Hinata recoiled from the harsh glare of the sun, tripping over a displaced roof tile and landing among the debris. She struggled upright, trying to catch her bearings. The nearby shops and houses had seen better days, many of them partially collapsed. An uneven fissure ran through the street where part of the underground tunnel system had collapsed. She could hear the sounds of battle nearby.

The curse mark burned as she tried to squash her growing panic. She ripped off the ANBU mask to feel the breeze on her face. Searching for her teammates with her Byakugan, Hinata easily perceived the fighting between Leaf and Sand ninja. There was a strange purple dome atop the Hokage Tower that surrounded the Hokage and a sinister snake-like man; even from halfway across the village, the man oozed malice. Hinata flinched. She turned her attention to Anko, who appeared to be battling four ninja at once, snakes swirling from her sleeves to spit venom at the enemy.

"HINATAA!"

 _Sakura?_

"HINATAAAA!"

 _Ino?_

"Hinata?"

 _Sasuke?_

"Hinata, where are you?"

 _Chouji?_

Her teammates, accompanied by Team 7, picked their way through the rubble.

"Sakura! Ino! Everyone! I'm over here!" Hinata's throat felt raw from inhaling cave dust and she coughed.

"I had no idea you could shout like that." The relief shining in Ino's eyes contradicted her waspish tone.

"No need to be rude, Pig." Sakura snapped.

"Jeez, if only you had the common sense to go with your giant forehead." Ino replied, hands on her hips. "Obviously-"

"There's no time for that!" Hinata interrupted. "I need your help. There's a Leaf ANBU trapped in the catacombs under the village. She stayed behind to give me a chance to escape. I can't leave her down there. Will you help me?"

Sasuke looked at her as if she had grown a second head. Sakura and Ino wore identical startled expressions.

"Excuse me, but, um…" Chouji trailed off.

"How do you know she is still alive?" Shino finished the question, as blunt as ever.

"I can see her." Hinata explained impatiently. Her head was starting to hurt from the strain of focusing on the battle occurring far below ground. She could see that Cat was still alive and fighting, the flickers of hostile chakra around her snuffing out like candle flames. Her vision began to blur. Sasuke caught her as her knees buckled.

"There's something wrong with her chakra," he said, Sharingan spinning as he assessed her with a critical eye.

"Is she okay?" Sakura asked.

"Whatever's happening, it's getting worse."

Hinata shivered. She clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering. An uncomfortable pins-and-needles sensation spread from the curse mark on her collarbone down her left arm, as she drew on the last reserves of her chakra to keep an eye on Cat.

"Holy shit!" Sakura exclaimed.

"What the fuck is that thing on her arm?" Ino grimaced.

"She needs to be seen by a medic," Chouji said, concerned. "Sasuke, can you bring her?"

"Hn." Sasuke inclined his head regally, scooping her up and turning to leave.

"Wait! I'll come with you!" Sakura scrambled after him.

"Me too!"

"Wait, Ino!" Chouji said, grabbing Ino's hand as she started to follow the others. "You know the layout of T&I right? You can help me and Shino get the ANBU agent out. Hinata seemed really worried about that."

Ino paused. Her pale blue eyes narrowed.

"I guess. I only know some of it, though. I sort of know where my dad's office is, and he gave me a tour once, but that's it."

"It will have to do." Shino said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Chouji can use his family's jutsu to grow in size and move rubble out of the way so we can get down there. Between my kikaichu, your knowledge of the facility, and Chouji's ability, it should be a relatively efficient search and rescue mission."

"She's an ANBU, why can't she rescue herself?" Ino folded her arms. "Shouldn't we be more worried about Hinata?"

"We're not medics, how are we supposed to help? Her arm looked pretty freaky, let's be honest none of us have any idea of how to deal with that. Let Sasuke and Sakura handle it." Chouji argued.

"Fine." Ino huffed, foot tapping. "Let's get this over with, then."

* * *

Kiba emerged from the forest, sporting a deep indigo shiner around his left eye, scrapes and cuts covering his hands and forearms. His shirt was shredded and covered in tufts of what looked like dog hair. Akamaru limped beside him, right front paw wrapped with a careful field dressing. He pointed a kunai, crusted with dried blood, at an unconscious Naruto, who lay crumpled in a bloody heap.

"Shikamaru, what the fuck is going on?"

Shikamaru looped Naruto's arm around his shoulders and tried to lift him, but the Uzumaki boy was heavier than his small stature implied.

"Help, Kiba," he grunted, staggering. "What on earth does this kid weigh?"

"You left me back there to deal with all those guys-there were like three of them still standing when you left, by the way-and you want me to help you?"

"You told me you could handle it! You said, and I quote, 'I'm going to tear these idiots to shreds, go on ahead, Shikamaru'." Shikamaru lowered Naruto back to the ground, then grabbed him by the armpits and tried to lift him.

"Well…okay, yeah, but-"

"So troublesome! Just give me a hand here, will you?"

"Would you lay off, you sound like your mother," Kiba muttered, but came forward to help. They each looped one of Naruto's arms around their shoulders and slowly stood.

"We need to get back to the village."

"No freaking duh, I don't need to be a genius to figure that out. Our teammate looks like he got run through a wood chipper, and speaking of which, where are the creepy redhead and his teammates?" Kiba whipped his head around wildly, scanning the decimated undergrowth for any sign of a threat.

"They left."

"What? What do you mean 'they left'? How are you not freaking out right now? First, our village gets invaded by like two other villages, and then all those guys were trying to kill us, well mostly me because I didn't run away unlike some people I could name, and also creepy ginger boy could be going on some kind of murderous rampage right now-"

"Look, Naruto can explain better than I can," Shikamaru interrupted. "Can't this wait until later? This whole troublesome ordeal is giving me a headache."

"Fina," Kiba huffed, staggering as he tripped over a tree root, almost losing his hold on Naruto. "You better buy Akamaru some treats, though."


End file.
